At last, the fateful day arrived. The day when everything was meant to change - for better or for worse, only time would tell. I knew only one thing for certain: I had no intention of following the canon. I had worked too hard to grow stronger, and I believed I could save both Haku and Zabuza.
On the eighth day, we put the plan into motion. The main group, along with one of my shadow clones, headed to the bridge to protect Tazuna-san. I was left behind to guard Tsunami and Inari. While ensuring the client's family remained safe, I created around thirty shadow clones and dispersed them throughout the surrounding area.
With numbers like that, finding Gatō's hideout would have been nearly impossible. But there was no need. I knew that bastard would show himself eventually - sailing straight toward the unfinished bridge with a crowd of hired thugs. All my clones had to do was patrol the waters. Once the target was spotted, they were to finish him and deal with the rest.
I'd be lying if I said I hadn't struggled with the morality of it. Do I even have the right to take their lives? We're all human. Maybe everyone deserves a second chance. But then I would remember exactly who Gatō's men were. If left unchecked, they wouldn't hesitate to massacre the town - robbing, killing, violating innocent people without remorse. And at that point, the choice stopped being difficult.
About twenty minutes later, I received crucial information from the shadow clone accompanying my team. Instead of dispersing directly, he created another clone first and only then released the technique. Because of that, I learned that Zabuza had appeared on the bridge alongside Haku, and the battle had already begun. Kakashi had taken on the Demon of the Hidden Mist, while Sasuke was facing the last wielder of the Ice Release bloodline.
I wasn't the only one who received that information. All thirty clones stationed near the shore were now aware of the situation. Nothing prevented them from splitting up and beginning their patrol across the water. Thanks to the water-walking technique, they held a massive advantage over Gatō's ordinary mercenaries. Earlier, they had deliberately remained by the shore - there was always a risk of running into Zabuza or Haku and ruining the plan before it even began.
Remaining beside Tazuna's family, I calmly waited for the "guests" Gatō would inevitably send. They turned out to be two of his close subordinates, proudly calling themselves "samurai." About ten minutes later, I heard them approaching. My heightened senses - far beyond what ordinary people possessed - picked up the heavy footsteps against the wooden boards outside.
"Tsunami-san, it seems we have visitors. I'll step out for a moment to greet them. Don't worry - everything will be fine." I rose to my feet and addressed the client's daughter.
"Ah…? Alright." She sounded slightly anxious. It was obvious she was worried about me.
"You'll come back, right, Naruto-aniki?" Inari asked, unease clear in his voice.
"Don't worry, Inari. I'll deal with them quickly and come right back. I promise." It was almost amusing how much the boy had changed. We'd grown close in such a short time, finding something in common between us.
Stepping outside, I came face to face with the so-called "samurai." Calling them that was an insult to real samurai. What stood before me were nothing more than bandits with katanas and ugly faces. And these were the men who, under Gatō's orders, had killed Inari's stepfather - the hero of the Land of Waves - stealing the people's hope.
"And who the hell are you, brat?" one of them sneered when he saw me.
"Zōji, looks like the kid's one of those ninja. See the headband?" his partner noted.
"This runt? A ninja? Guess they'll recruit just about anyone these days," Zōji scoffed.
"Either way, he won't be as dangerous as that pretty boy from earlier," the second one added, clearly referring to Haku.
"Yeah? Still stronger than both of you," I shot back and instantly closed the distance between us.
"What...?!" They hadn't expected that.
I caught them completely off guard. The idiots didn't even manage to draw their blades before I was already between them. In panic, they reached for their katanas, but I was far faster. First, I delivered a low kick, having spotted the flaw in one man's stance. The strike knocked him off balance, and he began to fall. I leapt sharply and followed with a spinning roundhouse straight to the other's head, knocking him unconscious on the spot. Then I turned back to the first thug. He desperately tried to rise, but a quick sweep took his legs out again and a clean punch to the jaw finished the job.
Staring down at the two defeated men, I began to truly understand how much my training and my sparring sessions with Sasuke - had paid off. I was stronger. Sharper. Better at sensing my opponent's weak points.
"Whoa! You beat them, Naruto-aniki!" Inari exclaimed, peeking out of the house with his mother.
Tsunami-san still looked shaken, but I could see relief slowly replacing her fear as she looked at the unconscious bodies.
"I need to get some information out of these two. I'll be back soon. Stay inside." With that, I grabbed the limp bodies of Gatō's men and disappeared from sight.
Fifteen minutes later, deep in the forest, I tied them securely to separate trees, binding their limbs so tightly they couldn't move. Then I began waking them up. I didn't like the idea of torture - not even a little. So I hoped threats alone would be enough to make them talk.
"Wake up, sleeping beauties. I don't have much time, so I hope you'll be smart and won't test my patience." I roused them with a few sharp slaps across the cheeks.
"Wha…? Where… am I…?" one of them mumbled as he began to regain consciousness.
"What… happened?!" the other came to far more abruptly.
"Don't bother trying to escape. I tied you up tightly. Even if by some miracle you manage to break free, you'll still have to deal with me and this time, you're unarmed. So let's skip the prelude. Tell me what I want to know. Where is your employer's hideout - Gatō's?" I asked, looking into their furious faces.
"Go to hell, you little brat!" one of them spat, blood landing on the grass. Rage still burned in his eyes, mixed with disbelief. "Do you even know who we work for? Gatō will grind this village into dust and you… you'll be fed to the fish piece by piece!"
"Then we'll do this the hard way." I pulled a kunai from my pouch and stepped toward them. "At the Academy, every shinobi is taught various interrogation methods. But those take time. So I'll ask you one last time - do you really want to die under torture? Here, in this forest?"
"…You're bluffing!" one of them shot back.
But I could feel it - fear was slowly creeping in. Their instincts were finally overriding their pride.
"Would you like to test that statement of yours?" I asked calmly. "All I want is the location of your boss and his base. The moment you tell me - I'll let you go. Alive."
"You're lying! Don't listen to him! Don't say a word - he's messing with our heads!" the second thug hissed at his partner.
"Well… I tried being nice." I stepped closer to the first man, the tip of the kunai gleaming near his face.
"Wait! Wait! I'll talk!"
Just as planned - he broke.
Through their frantic, stumbling explanations, I learned everything I needed.
"He doesn't have a base on land!" the first one blurted out. "Gatō keeps everything valuable on his ship! He's already there, with all the mercenaries. The plan was this: we grab the woman and the kid as hostages, and he sails the ship to the bridge once Zabuza and the Konoha ninja exhaust each other!"
"How many men on the ship?" I asked shortly, pulling the kunai away from his face.
"About sixty! Every piece of trash he could hire in the ports! But they're just a mob - no shinobi among them, I swear!"
"Well then. Thank you for the information." I genuinely meant it. I turned, preparing to leave.
"Wait! You promised to let us go!" one of them shouted.
"Alive!" the other quickly added important part.
"Right. Almost forgot. Thanks for the reminder, guys. As the future Hokage, I always keep my promises."
I sliced through the ropes binding them.
"Phew…" The two bandits sighed in relief as they were freed.
"However, I can't allow you to hurt any of the villagers or innocent people ever again." As I said that, I stepped toward them and my intentions were anything but friendly.
"Wait… What are you... Aghhh!!"
I broke their arms and legs.
The pain was enough to make them pass out almost immediately. I didn't enjoy doing it - not in the slightest, but I couldn't let them walk away without consequences. They would never raise a sword again. I made sure of that.
Forming a pair of shadow clones, I dispelled the first one at once to pass the information along to the others. The second clone would carry the two thugs back to the village and leave them at the mercy of the townsfolk. After that, he would remain with Inari and Tsunami-san.
As for me, I hurried toward the bridge. The information I had received from the dispelled clone a minute earlier confirmed it - the situation there was reaching its limit. Even though Sasuke had "awakened" the Sharingan, his fight against Haku was clearly not going in his favor. My teammate was struggling: his eyes could track the enemy's movements, but his body simply lacked the speed to react.
Zabuza had already tried a couple of times to kill my clone, mistaking him for the original, but each time he was stopped. First by Kakashi-sensei, and the second time by Haku himself. He had told Zabuza he would deal with me personally, but I understood the real reason. Haku simply didn't want me dead. No matter how much he called himself a "tool," he was far too kind for that role.
Five minutes later, I reached the unfinished bridge. Kakashi-sensei was inside Zabuza's mist, while Sasuke was trapped within Haku's ice prison. Sakura-chan stood guard over Tazuna, together with my shadow clone.
"And here I am!" I announced as I landed beside Sakura-chan. The shadow clone next to her dispersed into smoke.
"Naruto. What about Tazuna-san's family? Are they safe?" she asked cautiously.
"Yeah. Gatō hired some guys to kidnap Tsunami-san and Inari, but I dealt with them."
"What?!" our client exclaimed in alarm.
"Relax, you old drunk. They're safe - I left a shadow clone there," I reassured him.
"Good. Since you're here, hurry and help Sasuke-kun," Sakura-chan said after quickly assessing the situation.
"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry - this'll be over soon, Sakura-chan." I gave her a quick wink.
"Stop fooling around, Naruto!" she snapped, slightly flustered.
I launched forward and leapt straight into Haku's ice prison, locking eyes with Sasuke. My teammate looked… rough. Wounded and exhausted, he stared at me like I was an idiot. Senbon needles protruded from several points on his body. And his eyes - they were different. When Sasuke had first awakened his Sharingan, each eye had a single tomoe. But now, his right eye had two.
"Well, here I am - came to help you, Sasuke. By the way, what's up with your right eye?" I asked.
"What the hell are you doing inside the trap, idiot…" Sasuke muttered tiredly.
"What else was I supposed to do? Cheer you on while you got beaten like a helpless pupp?" I shot back.
"No, moron! You were supposed to help from the outside - trying to break the ice mirrors! Now we're both trapped!" Sasuke snapped, raising his voice.
"Relax. It wouldn't have worked anyway. He would've beaten me up first and then gone back to you," I replied.
"…"
Sasuke didn't know what to say to that.
"…"
Haku, too, seemed taken aback by our conversation.
"So what do you suggest? We surrender?" Sasuke asked, narrowing his eyes.
"No. We stick to the plan," I answered calmly.
"Tch…" My teammate scoffed in irritation.
"And what exactly is your plan?" Haku asked. But there was no way to tell which of the ice mirrors he was speaking from.
"You'll find out soon enough. Until then… maybe we talk about something? The weather, perhaps?" I suggested, glancing at the reflections.
"…I'm afraid I must decline," Haku replied.
A split second later, I had to dodge a barrage of senbon.
"Hey, hey! That hurts!" I complained. I managed to avoid most of the needles, but a few struck true and it was damn unpleasant.
I didn't feel like turning into a human pincushion, so I quickly used the Shadow Clone Technique. Creating eight copies of myself, I formed a living shield around my real body. Unfortunately, that tactic didn't last long - barely a minute. The clones took heavy damage and burst into clouds of smoke.
But during that short time, something important happened - one of my clones located Gatō's ship. The moment it dispersed, the information flowed back to me… and to the others.
'Good. Just a little longer.' I thought, forcing myself to dodge another volley of Haku's senbon.
It was a nightmare. I regretted stepping into that damn ice prison more than once. I don't know how much time passed after my clone found Gatō, but every minute felt like an eternity. Tired of playing defense, I decided to switch to offense. Creating around a dozen shadow clones, Sasuke and I unleashed the Great Fireball Technique, trying to shatter Haku's mirrors.
We failed.
Still, I had to give the Uchiha credit - he was getting much better at dodging Haku's senbon.
The moment I tried to shift my position, my body froze and new information flooded my mind.
I… did it.
I killed a man. With my own hands. My chest tightened. My stomach twisted.
And then someone slammed into me, knocking me to the ground. It was Sasuke.
"What the hell are you doing, idiot?" he snapped, taking several senbon meant for me.
"Sorry… We won," I said quietly. No matter how awful I felt, I couldn't let it show.
"So… your plan worked?" Sasuke asked, searching my face for confirmation.
"What victory? What plan?" Haku's voice echoed from the mirrors, confusion clear in his tone.
"There's no point in continuing this fight. Your employer is dead."I wasn't in the mood for jokes. I told him the truth.
"…"
The last wielder of the Ice Release bloodline stopped moving. He silently watched me, uncertain what to do next.
"I don't want to fight you, Haku. And you… you don't want to kill us either."
I rose to my feet, staring into the countless reflections.
"…You recognized me? How?"After a minute of silence, Haku finally dispelled his technique. The mirrors shattered into melting shards, and he removed his mask.
"Your height. Your build. The way you move. You walk too quietly - like a real shinobi. Some habits are hard to hide," I answered.
"…I underestimated you," he admitted.
"Ugh… Haku… what are you doing?!" Zabuza growled in irritation.
His mist began to thin, revealing the Demon of the Hidden Mist in rough shape. Kakashi-sensei had summoned his ninja hounds, and they were clamped onto Zabuza's limbs, severely restricting his movement.
"You've lost. There's no need to continue this battle."
This time it wasn't me speaking - it was my shadow clone, arriving on the bridge with Gatō's corpse slung over his shoulder.
"…"
Zabuza's eyes shifted from the body of his employer to me. The hatred in his gaze was palpable.
"He's right, Zabuza," Kakashi-sensei said calmly. "You no longer have a reason to carry out the contract on Tazuna. No one's going to pay you now."
"…!"The ninja hounds suddenly retreated, sensing danger. Haku instantly moved to Zabuza's side.
"Zabuza-san, I suggest we withdraw," Haku said quietly.
"…Kid. Tell me your name."The Demon of the Hidden Mist looked furious.
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki," I answered without looking away.
"I'll remember that name. One day, we will meet again… and I will kill you."
He spat out my name like a curse - a promise of a future vendetta. Thankfully, they chose to leave instead of dragging out a pointless fight.
Our team remained alone on the bridge. Well… alone, aside from Gatō's corpse.
'I did it… I changed Zabuza and Haku's fate. They'll live. Where that leads - only time will tell. With my own hands, I took the life of one vile man… so that two broken shinobi could keep living.'
I stared out at the sea.
Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was warm feeling.
I turned and saw Kakashi-sensei's face. There was concern in his eyes… and something else. Understanding.
'Right… I'm not alone in this world.'
I gave him a small nod - to let him know that "I was okay".
**Author's Note: long time no see, sorry for that - was working on other projects. All I ask from u, dear readers - pls support me with ur comment and maybe -review.**