Breakfast resembled a wake. The silence was broken only by the clinking of dishes—Tsunami's hands trembled so violently that the porcelain rattled against the wooden table like teeth chattering in the frost. Inari didn't lift his eyes from his empty plate, but Naruto felt his gaze—quick, clinging, as if the boy were trying to sear their faces into his memory before they vanished forever.
"It is time."
Kakashi pushed his cup away. His voice was even, mundane. It was the tone one used for a trip to the store, not a potentially lethal skirmish. The chair creaked as it slid back.
Tazuna hoisted his pack of tools. The old man was pale, but his jaw was clenched so tight his muscles turned white.
"Be careful," Tsunami's whisper was barely audible, her palms pressed to her chest as if holding back her breaking heart. "Please... come back."
Naruto touched his forehead protector. The metal felt habitually cool against his skin. He caught Inari's eye.
"We will return," the words fell heavy, like stones. "And the bridge will be built."
The door opened, releasing them into the grey gloom.
***
The world was drowning in fog.
The road to the bridge disappeared into a haze that grew denser and more tangible with every step. At first, it was a harmless morning mist, but soon it thickened into a heavy, milky brew. The air became viscous, sticky. It settled on their skin like icy dew, muffling the sounds of their footsteps, turning the squad into a procession of ghosts.
Naruto walked as the rearguard. His senses were taut as a bowstring. Qi Sensory was active.
He could taste the air. Not moisture. Not salt. Chakra again.
The fog was saturated with it—a thin, barely perceptible, but omnipresent structure permeating every cubic centimeter of space. This was enemy territory.
"The fog... it feels alive," Sakura whispered, glancing around nervously. She imagined the twisted branches of trees reaching for her from the whitish murk like the bony fingers of the dead.
"Stay close," Kakashi's voice cut through the silence. His hand was already resting on the headband covering his Sharingan.
The concrete slabs of the unfinished bridge emerged from nowhere, stretching into the white void.
And then the smell hit Naruto.
Sharp. Metallic.
The scent of fresh, still-warm blood.
He froze, nostrils flaring.
"Something is wrong," he said quietly, his voice sounding muffled in the cotton-like air. "Too quiet. Where are the workers?"
The bridge resembled a crypt, not a construction site. Usually, it was noisy with the banging of hammers and hearty curses. Today, the silence pressed on their ears with physical weight. The gloom became so thick it felt like they were walking inside a storm cloud.
"What... what happened here?" Tazuna stumbled, his voice cracking into a rasp.
Ten more steps—and the veil reluctantly parted, revealing a grim scene.
The workers lay in heaps. Some moaned quietly, cradling shattered limbs; others were silent in unconsciousness. Puddles of blood darkened the grey concrete. There were no dead bodies—Zabuza had cleared the "stage" without bothering with unnecessary slaughter. Or perhaps he was saving his strength for the main course.
"You came..."
The voice scraped like a rusty blade being drawn from a scabbard. It came from everywhere and nowhere, reflecting off the water and concrete.
"I hoped you wouldn't run. Rats have a tendency to hide. That would have been more... troublesome."
A vortex of mist condensed, gaining flesh. Zabuza Momochi emerged from the air, towering over them like a cliff. The massive sword on his back, bandages hiding his face, and eyes—the cold, empty eyes of a predator looking at food.
He was restored. Completely.
Beside him, frozen like a shadow, stood a slight figure in the porcelain mask of a Hunter-nin.
Naruto recognized the aura instantly.
Cold. Crystal purity. A perfect balance of Yin and Yang, concealing deadly power. The energy flowed in this person smoothly, without a single ripple, like a current beneath ice.
I was right, Uzumaki thought, narrowing his eyes. That guy from the forest. The herbalist.
"Sakura," Kakashi commanded, not taking his eyes off the Demon. "Guard Tazuna. Do not engage unless the enemy comes within striking distance."
"Y-yes!" the Kunoichi took her position, drawing a kunai. Her hands trembled, but she forced herself to stand.
"Sasuke, Naruto," the Jonin continued. "You take the one in the mask. Zabuza is mine."
"I'll handle it myself."
Sasuke stepped forward. Sharply. Boldly.
It wasn't just arrogance ringing in his voice—it was hunger. A week of training, chakra control, increased speed—it all intoxicated him. Sasuke Uchiha was tired of being just an observer. He craved blood. He craved to prove—to Naruto, to Kakashi, to the whole world—that he, and only he, was the true elite here.
Naruto glanced sideways at his partner but only gave a warning.
"Be careful. His chakra... is unusual. It's cold."
"Don't lecture me!" the Uchiha snapped and launched himself forward.
The battle ignited like gunpowder.
The clang of steel. Kakashi and Zabuza collided in the center of the bridge, vanishing into a whirlwind of movements too fast for Genin eyes. Sparks rained down like fireworks.
But Sasuke's attention was riveted to Haku.
The Uchiha moved fast. Much faster than in the forest. Chakra concentrated in his soles allowed him to glide over the concrete as if on skates.
"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu! (Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu)"
Fingers wove seals with flawless speed. Chest filled with heat. Exhale!
A roaring ball of flame, an orange sun in the grey gloom, rushed toward the masked figure.
Haku didn't move until the last second. A light, almost lazy gesture of his hand.
Water from a puddle surged up in a wall and instantly solidified.
An ice shield.
HISS!
The fire slammed into the ice, exploding in a cloud of thick steam.
Ice?! Kekkei Genkai?!
Sasuke didn't hesitate. Diving into the white curtain, he flanked the enemy. A kunai strike aimed at the neck!
CLANG!
Haku blocked the thrust with a long metal senbon. Steel met steel.
Clinch.
"You are fast," the voice from beneath the mask sounded calm, even tinged with sadness. "Much faster than last time."
"I am an Uchiha," Sasuke hissed, leaning in with all his weight. Fury burned in his eyes. "The elite of Konoha. Don't you dare look down on me."
Haku merely swayed slightly and gently pushed the opponent away, breaking the distance with a graceful backflip. He landed soundlessly, like a snowflake.
"Uchiha..." he repeated thoughtfully. "Tell me, Uchiha. What do you fight for? What drives your blade?"
The question caught him off guard, but the answer was already branded into his unconscious.
"Ambition." Sasuke's voice turned cold as the ice beneath his feet. "Restoring my clan. And killing a certain man. For that, I will walk over corpses. You are just a stone on the road. I will step over you."
Naruto, watching from the flank, shook his head.
Revenge. Pure, concentrated darkness. That fuel burns bright, but the soot poisons the soul.
Haku tilted his head. Disappointment was readable even through the mask slits.
"I see. Your eyes... they are empty. You seek power only for yourself. You fight for ghosts of the past."
He remembered the morning in the forest. The boy with clear blue eyes who spoke of protecting loved ones. Of strength born from the desire to shield.
This opponent was different. Talented, dangerous... but fragile as glass.
"I pity you," Haku said. "But if you threaten Zabuza-sama... I will break you."
The air around them shifted abruptly.
The temperature plummeted. Puddles underfoot crackled, glazing over with ice. Breath turned into steam.
"What the?.." Sasuke sensed something wrong. Instincts howled. Attack! Interrupt the technique!
Too late.
Haku raised one hand. Fingers formed a seal.
Sasuke's eyes widened. One hand?! Impossible!
"Secret Art: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals."
The water around them surged. It shot upward, freezing mid-flight, forming flat, perfectly smooth slabs. They grew, surrounding the Uchiha, closing overhead into a dome. Twelve... fifteen... twenty-one mirrors.
The trap snapped shut.
In every icy surface, Haku's figure was reflected. Twenty-one masks looked down at Sasuke.
"Now," the voices spoke simultaneously from all sides, creating an eerie, disorienting echo, "your speed is useless. I am everywhere."
Sasuke spun his head, panic pricking his heart like an icy needle.
"Shadow Clones? No... reflections. Where is the real one?!"
A kunai whistled toward the nearest mirror.
CLANG.
The weapon bounced off, not even leaving a scratch. The ice was harder than steel.
"Here," came a whisper right above his ear.
Haku stepped out of the mirror. No, he flowed. He merged with the reflection and materialized. To the naked eye, it was tantamount to teleportation.
A flash of light.
"Aaargh!" Sasuke cried out. A deep cut on his shoulder, blood spraying onto the grey stone.
"And here."
A flash from behind. A needle buried itself in his thigh. The Uchiha dropped to one knee.
"And here."
A flash from above. A kick to the face flung the Genin into the center of the circle like a rag doll.
Sasuke tried to track him. His eyes darted, but they couldn't keep up. Haku had become light reflecting in mirrors.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"
Sasuke slashed at the air with his kunai. A cornered beast. Pride, arrogance, confidence—all crumbled to dust under the relentless hail of needles.
"Give up." Haku's voice was dispassionate as a verdict. "You cannot win. Your ambitions will die here, along with you."
Sasuke, wheezing heavily, tried to stand. Blood flooded his eye, but rage gave him strength.
"Shut up!" he roared.
Katon!
A useless fireball merely sooted the ice, failing to even melt the surface.
"I won't die here! I cannot die until I kill HIM!"
Outside the ice dome, Naruto watched.
Qi Sensory scanned the structure of the technique.
A closed loop. A perfect dome. The mirrors create a space where he moves at immense speed, merging with the element. Sasuke won't win from the inside. He's too slow.
He heard his partner's screams. Smelled the scent of his fear and blood.
"Sasuke-kun! Naruto! Do something!" Sakura screamed, staring in horror at the ice prison.
Naruto clenched his fist.
He had given Sasuke a chance. A chance to prove himself. A chance to overcome his limits.
But this was no longer a battle. It was an execution.
"Sakura." He didn't turn around. His voice was low, commanding. "Do not step away from Tazuna. If anyone approaches—kill them. Do not hesitate."
"B-but... Naruto..."
"Listen to what you are told."
Deep breath. Qi swirled in the meridians of his legs, preparing to explode.
He needed to intervene. Smashing the mirrors from the outside wouldn't help Sasuke in time—the durability of the ice, saturated with Haku's chakra, was equal to his current striking power.
One path remained.
Into the inferno.
Inside.
A silent black shadow launched itself forward, rushing into the icy hell to save his troublesome teammate.