An oppressive tension hung in the air as Anko and Naruto locked eyes with their formidable new adversary.
Zabuza stood on his sword.
"Hmm, the rat was right; some ninjas are running around. What are two Konoha ninja doing this far from their village?" Zabuza asked, the curiosity in his voice not overpowering his menacing presence.
A drop of sweat rolled down Anko's forehead, and she tried her best to keep her voice from giving away any anxiety.
"I could ask you the same thing; not often do you run into the demon of the mist in a backwater like this."
Zabuza gave a dry chuckle.
"What brings me here is what brings people to most places: money, but you two already know that since you are trying to mess with my employer."
Anko couldn't help but give away to her surprise at Zaubuza's statement.
Zabuza answered her unspoken question.
"You have to ask the rat how he knew you were here. He probably made someone talk, but that person knew you were planning to sabotage Gato's operations.
Anko's mind quickly determined who he was talking about; Tsunami and Tazuna were safe, as they had been with them, and the only other person who knew was Osami.
"What did he do to Osami and his family" Her anger and worry overpowered her fear
"You should be more worried about yourselves at the present moment."
The mist thickened and consumed Zabuza, making Anko and Naruto unable to see each other.
Naruto, frozen by Zabuza's killing intent, was shaken out of it by Anko's voice.
"Naruto, stay calm; I need you to use a wind jutsu to disperse this mist; we can't fight him in this. Your wind jutsu is our best chance to clear the mist and gain the upper hand." Anko said quickly, knowing that Zabuza could strike any moment.
Zabuza's voice then echoed all around them.
"Eight points, eight points that will kill you in one strike. Larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular, subclavian artery, kidneys, heart. Which will be my attack point."
Naruto began to freeze in fear once again, but Anko put a hand on his shoulder; although he couldn't see her, he felt calmer knowing she was nearby.
Naruto then went through hand signs and preformed
Wind Release Great Breakthrough Jutsu
Naruto produced a large gust from his mouth, and the mist dispersed around them, and Zabuza was nowhere to be seen. After a few seconds, the mist reformed and closed around them again.
Damn, we can't dismiss it. We have to get out of the area. Anko thought to herself.
Anko steeled herself, ready to shield Naruto from Zabuza's next move. She focused her chakra to her ears and departed, relying on her one reliable sense.
She heard the air shift above her and quickly put a kunai above her, blocking the strike from Zabuza. The force of her parry sent Anko sliding backward across the ground as she tried to recover quickly.
Upon hearing the clash of metal, Naruto swiftly sprang into action. With a swift hand movement, he conjured ten shadow clones, each dispatched toward the source of the sound, where Anko and Zabuza were.
Naruto waited for his clones to pop so he could read their memories and determine where Zabuza was located.
In a sudden twist, Naruto found himself shielded by Anko's protective tackle just as Zabuza's massive sword crashed down on his previous position.
After hitting the ground with Naruto, Anko sent through hand signs and performed.
Earth Style: Earth Dome
Anko turned to Naruto and tried to take advantage of their few moments of safety in her technique, a brief period when her Earth Dome jutsu provided a protective barrier against Zabuza's attacks.
"You need to make as many clones as possible and send them yelling in all directions; then, pick a direction and run as quietly as possible until you get out of the mist."
"We can't run. We have to beat him if we want to do our plan." Naruto declared his previous fear forgotten.
"There is no way we can beat him if we stay in this mist; just trust me, Naruto, as soon as this dome breaks..."
A sword came through the dome, and Anko barely managed to avoid losing her arm with the sword's edge, giving her a deep cut on her arm. The pain was excruciating, but she gritted her teeth and focused on the battle. Anko put her hands to the ground and dismissed the dome,
"Now Naruto" yelled Anko.
Naruto created dozens of clones and made them run in all directions, their footsteps echoing loudly in the mist, creating as much noise as possible to mask Zabuza's hearing.
After a few minutes of navigating through the dense, swirling mist, Anko finally reached its edge. She burst through, the mist parting behind her, and turned around. It was then that she heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps approaching, and Zabuza emerged from the lingering mist.
"That was a smart maneuver with the kid's clones back there."
Zabuza looked Anko over
"For someone who can manage to avoid two of my ambush attacks with sound alone, I expect you'd be some big-name, but I don't recognize you."
Anko smiled lightly
"Well, I'm still up and coming in the ninja world. Can I convince you that Gato is a bastard that you shouldn't work for"
"Sure, if you have five hundred million ryo on hand, I'll gladly leave now," said Zabuza
"I'm afraid. I don't have that much on me right now. Can't you let us go for free" asked Anko.
"I'm afraid I can't do that. It's too risky to let anyone who knows where I am live. I already sent someone after that apprentice of yours."
"Well, as long as it isn't you, I'm confident he can handle whoever you sent," Anko said, her confidence in Naruto coming through in her voice.
"I wouldn't say that; depending on how merciful Haku's feeling, it could be worse for your kid."
Naruto emerged from the mist and scanned for Anko, but she was nowhere in sight. Confident she had also escaped, Naruto began sprinting around the perimeter to find her.
After several minutes, Naruto came across a masked figure standing in his path.
He wore a pinstriped outfit, which stopped at his knees. Over this, he wore a green haori with white trimmings and around his waist a brown sash with a fringed trail wrapped around his waist twice. He also wore light-brown platoon sandals with straps. His hair was gathered in a white bun holder while two locks fell loose, framing his face.
"Who are you?" asked Naruto
The masked figure replied
"I'm the tool of Zabuza Momochi, and I'm here to dispose of you."
Sakon jumped away from the explosive tag; the explosion caught him in his back. It knocked him away, his clothes were burned away, exposing his back, his brother melded out of his back and looked over his brothers."
You'll live, but if Jirobo hadn't warned you, your arrogance would have killed us both," said Ukon.
"Shut it, I'm sick and tired of genjutsu," replied Sakon
"Focus, they must be close by," Jirobo said as he landed near Sakon.
Man on the ground again, you must like it there,
The three looked across the river to see Sakura standing with a cocky look on her face.
"You, I'm sick and tired of you."
Calm down. She's trying to rile you up. Don't fall for it; she's probably not even the real one."
Sakura then threw two shuriken. They both went wide, missing her targets; before Sakon could mock her. The shurikens triggered a trap that launched kunai at Jirobo and Sakon. They dodged out of the way, but when the kunai hit the ground, they turned into smoke bombs and smoke filled the area.
Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu
A giant fireball came from above. Jirbo, recognizing the strategy from his last fight with Sasuke, managed to create a dome covering him and Sakon from the blast,
After he dismissed it, the smoke was cleared, and Sakura and Sasuke were nowhere to be seen,
Jirobo turned toward Sakon,
The time for playtime is far from done; activate your stage two now; we can't risk defeat here.
Jirobo's curse mark began to glow as his skin turned a maroon color, his hair grew out, and he started to form warts across his forehead and shoulders.
Sakon and Ukon agreed and began their stage two transformation. Sakon fully emerged, and both his and his brother's skin became red; they gained yellow eye irises with dark black eye sclera, and black curved markings appeared upward from the corners of their eyes. Their fingernails become longer and sharper, their lips turn black, their mouth is torn from ear to ear, and they gain canine teeth. They gain long, waist-length white hair, their chins elongated, and a single long horn grows on opposite sides for each brother's foreheads. Symmetrically, their hardened skin turns black on opposite sides of their bodies. It folds like scales, like spiky armor on their arms and legs.
Sasuke and Sakura landed in front of them.
"Oh, so you finally reveal yourselves,
We didn't want to waste time fighting you guys, not full power, so we made you skip a few steps."
Well, you should be careful of what you ask for. Last time, my brother and I only showed a partial extent of our ability. Watch carefully because it will be the last thing you see.
Ukon looked at his brother. As long as we don't fall for any of their sections, the fight should be won,
Sasuke gave Sakura a nod, and she returned it, both prepared to fight
Anko and Zabuza stood facing each other, ready for their inevitable battle.
"You know Gato won't pay you, right? He has underpaid or backstabbed just about everyone who has worked for him," said Anko, trying one last attempt at convincing Zabuza to leave.
" I doubt he's such an idiot to think he could get away with not paying me," said Zabuza
"You'll be surprised when a guy gets as much money as he has; they tend to develop a sort of god complex," replied Anko
"Well, if he does, I'll make sure his head is on his desk by the end of the day; now, enough chit-chat; I'm eager to see you bleed. "
Zabuza charged forward and thrust his sword forward to impale Anko.
Anko, with her quick thinking, pulled down the sleeve of her trench coat, revealing her pellet launcher, and launched a pellet of poison gas directly at her feet.
Anko then jumped backward, expecting the action to buy her some time. A horizontal slash hit her as she exited the gas, cutting through her fishnet armor and making a gash across her torso.
Anko continued to move backward as she watched Zabuza emerge from the gas, unfazed. He took a deep breath and breathed it in.
"Ah, I recognize that. I can't recall the name, but it's produced from a rare plant in the Land of Iron," said Zabuza in an amused tone
"You're immune." Anko's voice was laced with frustration
I think you would have more common sense to try poison on an opponent of my caliber."
Anko gritted her teeth, placed her palms on the ground, and performed Earth Release: Tearing Earth Turning Palm
The ground split apart underneath Zabuza, making him jump into the air. Anko fired senbon, but Zabuza blocked them with his blade. Using the momentum from his jump, he went toward Anko with an overhead swing.
Anko rolled out of the way and started to go through hand signs
Fire Release: Flame Bullet
Anko spat out a fast-moving condensed flame at Zabuza.
Zabuza countered with
Water Release: Gunshot
As both techniques clashed, he shot out a similar-sized stream of water from his mouth, which created a large amount of steam in the area. Anko, on instinct, put her hands down and molded chakra into the earth and performed
Earth Release: Mud Wall
Creating hasty fortification in front of herself, Anko found her decisions quickly rewarded as Zabuza's sword pierced the wall.
Relieved she had just avoided death. Anko couldn't react in time as Zabuza's foot went straight through the wall and nailed her in the stomach, hurling her backward.
Zabuza removed his foot from the wall, collapsing it as he did. Then, he walked forward slowly with his sword on his shoulder.
"How disappointing! I thought you would be an interesting fight, but you're only good at avoiding death, not dealing with it."
Anko spit out blood
" I wouldn't be so sure about that."
Anko put a pellet in her launcher and fired it at Zabuza,
Zabuza, taking it as an act of desperation, didn't dodge and simply held his blade up and let the gas pellet hit his blade,
Zabuza paused as he took another sniff of the gas. It didn't smell natural; it was mixed with something as if trying to mask a scent. He then caught it, the faint scent of gunpowder.
Fire Style: Ash Ignition
Anko spat out a small moving ball of flame, igniting the gas.
It exploded, causing dust and debris to go up into the air,
Anko took this chance to distance herself and prepare for her next move. She ran through the forest and away from the explosion. That was the first time she used that technique in battle.
She got the idea from Asuma when he told her about his technique a few years back, though her version was not nearly as powerful. She doubted Zabuza was disabled in the explosion and only had a few precious moments before he caught up with her.
Feeling she had gotten far enough away, Anko stopped behind a tree and reached into her tool pouch. There, she found a small ink bottle with a brush attached to the cap.
She took the brush and inscribed small summoning seals on the underside of both her wrists. Anko then took a deep breath and prepared to break a vow she had made to herself. She dabbed a finger in one of her wounds, went through her hand signs, and placed her hand on the ground.
Out of the smoke, a colossal snake materialized. Its large, sleek scales were uniformly glossy black, and its chin and throat were a cream color. The sunlight from above cast a purple tint on its scales.
The snake was coiled up, its head raised, and turned toward Anko,
It spoke, its voice hissing through the air like a breeze
"It seems that my wayward summoner has finally returned."
"Hello, Mirai," Anko said, regret in her voice.
Orochimaru let Anko sign the snake summoning contract about a year before they left the village; Anko remembers it as one of the happiest moments of her life.
After a few months of practice, she was able to conjure her personal summon, Mirai. She and Mirai had built up a close relationship before she left with Orochimaru, but after she lost her memories, she swore off all snake-related jutsu, though over the years, Anko had allowed herself to use the non-intelligent snakes in rare cases, but she had never used Mirai or any of the more powerful summons, though now she wasn't in a position to keep a vow from when she was thirteen.
"Are you just going to stand there and say nothing? I would think that after a decade of silence, you would have a lot to say," Mirai said, her voice steady, showing no signs of annoyance or malice.
"I'm sorry, but I have no other option right now; I need your help. Will you give it?" asked Anko.
Mirai looked down at Anko, studying her.
"It appears that your age hasn't affected your manners. It's a pity; I will assist you, but I have one request."
"What is it?"
"We shall discuss later; now, what do you need me to do?" questioned Mirai
Naruto stood his ground in front of the masked ninja.
"I have to get to Anko; move. I don't want to hurt you, " Naruto said, determined.
"I have to say the same: if you stay here, you can live. I'm sorry about your friend, but I can't allow you to pass." responded the ninja
" Then I guess I don't have a choice."
Naruto began to charge forward, only to be surprised as he raised his guard to block a blow from his side. Astonished by his opponent's speed, Naruto attempted to strike. However, the masked ninja blocked it and aimed a sebon at Naruto's neck. Naruto barely managed to put his arm in the way of it. He then used his other hand to perform.
Wind Release: Gale Palm
Creating a gust of wind, sending both him and his opponent sliding in opposite directions,
Naruto then twenty clones and had them charge; the masked ninja quickly dismissed most of them, using his speed to perform quick strikes with sebon,
Naruto made another batch of twenty, but this time, the first then threw shuriken and went through hand signs,
Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu
The other ten then performed
Wind Release Great Breakthrough
Hundreds of fast-moving shurikens came at the masked ninja,
To Naruto's surprise, instead of dodging, they began to go through hand signs, and a wall of ice formed in front of him, blocking all of the shuriken; he then touched the wall from the other side.
Ice Release: Ice Needle Barrage
Small needles of ice began to shoot out from the wall, attacking Naruto and his clones; Naruto managed to take refuge behind a tree.
"What kind of Jutsu is that," Naruto asked out loud
"It's my kekkai genkai, I was born with the ability to manipulate ice." replied the ninja
Naruto, from behind the tree, looked in front of him and saw water begin to rise and form into more needles.
Thousands Flying Water Needles of Death
The needles began to rain down on Naruto
Naruto went through hand signs
Wind Release Great Breakthrough
He created an enormous torrent of wind that dismissed most water needles.
After his technique finished, he came out from behind the tree to confront the masked ninja.
"Why are you doing this? What does helping Gato even get you?"
The ninja's body language changed, showing signs of guilt
"You wouldn't understand, I have no right to defy Zabuza's orders."
"Says who," said Naruto
"Enough; if you keep on resisting, I will have to keep escalating with more force," the ninja said, growing impatient.
"You'll need a lot of force because I won't be going down."
"Fine", the ninja weaved through hand signs, and Naruto felt the air around him run frigid as water formed into ice. A dome of mirrors appeared around him. The ninja then appeared in all of the mirrors.
"This is my ultimate technique, I'm sorry, but you have brought this on yourself."
Sakon and Ukon rushed toward Sakura. Sasuke went to assist her, but Jirobo channeled earth chakra to his feet and stomped.
Earth Style: Earth Flow Spears
Spikes of earth shot up between Sasuke and Sakura, separating them.
Sasuke clicked his tongue. The core of Sakura and his strategy relied on them fighting different opponents; he needed to find a way to get Jirobo to fight Sakura and for him to fight the twins.
Sasuke gazed at the oncoming Jirobo. Quickly, he leaped aside, causing Jirobo to collide with and obliterate some of the spikes. Sasuke pulled out a windmill shuriken and threw it at Jirobo. Jirobo dodged the first shuriken but was caught off guard when a second windmill shuriken, concealed by the first, struck him in the stomach.
Jirobo grunted in pain as he pulled out the shuriken, and blood began to flow from his puncture wounds. Sasuke studied the wounds and noticed they didn't heal.
"Good, it looks like not all of you can regenerate," remarked Sasuke.
Sasuke then decided to test Jirobo's injuries and began to engage him in taijutsu.
Sakura was on the other side of the wall of spikes, doing her best to avoid attacks and keep her distance. She awaited an opening, but the ruthless brothers had conjoined together. They didn't allow her time to submerge into the earth.
Sakura saw an opportunity when both brothers gazed at her. She subtly activated her double-vision genjutsu and slipped past their guard to drive a kunai into their side. However, both brothers reacted swiftly and knocked her away. Looking back, she noticed they were no longer conjoined and looked around for the other brother.
Sakura was confused when she couldn't find him. Suddenly, she felt a hit at the back of her knee. She fell on one knee, and her arms were pulled behind her back. Sakura craned her neck to see the culprit, and to her horror, Ukon was emerging from her back and pinning her arms back.
"You didn't think our ability stopped at manipulating our own bodies, did you?" said Sakon
"Kill her now." urged Ukon
Sakon advanced with a kunai, the glint of the blade reflecting the fear in Sakura's eyes, ready to pierce her throat. Sakura struggled intensely against Ukon's hold, her every muscle straining against his grip.
Sasuke witnessed this scene in the middle of his Taijutsu brawl with Jirobo. His mind went to only one thought: "Not again." His heart pounded in his chest, a mix of fear and determination. Time slowed down as he dodged out of the way of Jirobo's overhead attack.
Fueled by determination, Sasuke sprinted towards Sakura as the kunai raced towards her neck. He willed himself to go faster, channeling more chakra to his feet than he thought possible.
Sakura closed her eyes as she heard the sound of metal piercing flesh,
She then realized she didn't feel the pain of her and felt her heartbeat.
She opened her eyes to see Sasuke standing with the kunai through his palm, grasping Sakon's fist, a sight that left her momentarily stunned.
Sasuke began to channel lighting a large Chakra through the contact,
Lighting Release: Depth Charge
electrocuting Sakon, After a few seconds, Ukon melded out of Sakura's body and tackled his brother away from Sasuke
Sasuke pulled the kunai out of his palm and offered Sakura a hand to get up.
" Are you all right?"
"Yeah, thank you, I don…." Sakura gasped.
"Sasuke" , she said as she gestured to his eyes.
Sasuke looked down into the reflection of the bloody kunai to see a Sharingan in both of his eyes, one tomoe in each eye. The immense joy that surged through Sasuke was foreign, but this feeling was interrupted by Jirobo landing behind Sakura.
He saw Sasuke's Sharingan "Damn as if you weren't enough trouble before."
On the other hand, Ukon rejoined with Sakon, healing most of his injuries.
Sasuke and Sakura nodded at each other and ran to opposite sides. Sakura confronted Jirobo, and Sasuke confronted the twins.
Jirobo, trying to take Sakura out quickly he put his hands on the ground and performed
Earth Release Earth Flow Spears
Sakura slowed her breathing as she prepared to do one of her riskiest strategies yet; she began to focus on molding earth chakra around her dirt. The spike came within a couple of feet, and the technique was disrupted as the spikes started to crumble into the dirt. Jirobo was absolutely shocked; the amount of control needed to disrupt earth techniques instantly was absurd,
Sakura then ran around Jirboo and started to throw shuriken at him,
Jirobo, knowing that his earth technique would not be the best move here, dodged them and began to charge forward at Sakura; she narrowly dodged and continued to her destination as she continued to throw shuriken at Jirobo, leading him,
Jirobo continued to take the bait as she finally got to the spot she needed to be. She maneuvered herself to be directly in front of Jirobo; he then began to shoulder discharge at her, but suddenly as he stepped on the ground in front of Sakura, it vanished, revealing a large pit, he began to freefall, deep into the pit, started to catch himself, but the walls were covered in an oily substance that didn't allow him to, He began to mold earth chakra, but suddenly the image of the pit disappeared. He was above ground, and the only difference was that there was now a kunai on the side of his neck. Sakura was across from him, still in her throwing position; he grasped at the kunai before falling forward on his knees. His form began to morph back to human before he completely collapsed.
Sasuke was utterly dominating the brothers; they were fast and unpredictable, but with his new Sharingan, he was able to see their attack before they happened; using his newfound advantage, he pushed the fight to the river,
He needed to take both of them out in one attack since their kekkai genkai seemed to allow them to have accelerated healing when together, Sasuke jumped and placed an axe kick, sending the conjoined brothers down into the water; he then stepped on the edge of the bank and quickly put both of his hands on top of the water, as he prepared to put all of his remaining chakra into
Lighting Release Depth Charge
Sasuke put more power into the technique than ever before as he electrified most of the river; he saw air bubbles come to the surface as he continued to channel his technique.
After he felt he was almost drained, he stopped his technique. Slowly, dead fish began to rise out of the water. After a few moments, the bodies of Sakon and Ukon emerged, separated from each other and out of their curse mark forms.
Sasuke took a breath and turned around to see Jirobo's limp form lying in front of Sakura. When she saw his gaze, she gave him a weak smile, a silent acknowledgment of their shared victory, and he returned it.
Zabuza, outside of being slightly singed, was no worse for wear. He went to the ground to track Anko. She couldn't have gotten far, and he was eager to finish her off.
Suddenly, Zabuza felt the ground beneath him begin to shake; he jumped back as the ground burst open, revealing a giant snake; the snake fully emerged from the hole, and Zabuza got to see Anko standing on top of the head, looking down at him,
"Sorry about leaving suddenly; I had to make some preparations."
"I just figured you ran away but you brought a pet back. It seems"
Anko used the old nonverbal signals she had created with Miral for combat. She barely remembered it herself, but she performed two quick taps with her foot in hopes Miral had a better memory than she did
Mirai understood the command and charged straight at Zabuza. At the last moment, Anko jumped off her head into the air, and Mira dove straight down, burrowing into the earth. While in the air, Anko pointed her arms down.
Hidden Shadow Snake hands
Snakes came out from the sleeves of Anko's trench coat at Zabuza.
Zabuza sliced at the snakes, destroying most of them, but a few slipped around the blade and bit him. Taking advantage of Anko's airborne vulnerability, Zabuza jumped into the air and took a slash with his sword.
More snakes came out of Anko's sleeves. They attached themselves to a nearby tree and pulled her toward it, allowing her to dodge the slash.
The ground spilled open below Zabuza, and Mirai burst her mouth open, ready to sink her fangs into Zabuza; Zabuza parried one of the fangs, which gave him enough momentum mid-air to dodge out of the way of Mirai's mouth. As he fell, he took his sword and left a long gash down Mirai's body, causing her to hiss in pain. She retaliated by swinging her tail and knocking Zabuza down into the hole she burrowed. Mirai then went back down into the earth and created a new hole, burrowing away.
Zabuza managed to land on his feet in the hole. It was about thirty feet deep. As he went to leap out, he looked up to see dozens of tiny flames floating above the hole
Fire Release: Flame Wisps
Anko began to throw a barrage of fast, blazing senbon down at Zabuza
Zabzua held his massive blade over his vital areas, but Anko's attacks continued to tear into his arms and legs; he also felt the flaming senbon begin to chip away at his sword., Zabuza for one of the few times in his life, was at the mercy of another's ninjas attack.
After what felt like an eternity, Anko's attack stopped. Zabuza reviewed his injuries and the damage done to his blade; his sword was chipped all across, with a crack beginning to form across the middle of the blade, His arms and legs were full of holes, and he had burns all over them. The pain was excruciating. He guessed he had only a few minutes before the adrenaline of the fight wore off, and he would be no longer able to move.
Zabuza, on sheer will, jumped out of the pit in one leap and landed outside; Anko was across from him, breathing heavily, with her injured summon standing tall behind her.
I have to say, I haven't fought many summons before, but yours is definitly the biggest pain I've encountered."
You don't have to do this; we don't have to kill each other; we can both walk away now and live.
I can't do that; my pride won't allow me.
So one of us has to die, and that's the end of it, huh.
Zabzua nodded
Anko turned to Mirai, stay back, don't interfere.
Mirai complied and slithered back a distance.
Anko then took a kunai and palmed it. Zabuza raised the sword, put it over his shoulder, and began to charge; Anko followed suit. As the two got closer and prepared for the final strike, Anko dropped the kunai from her grip. From her sleeve, a small snake grabbed the handle in its mouth, thrusting forward and planting the kunai into Zabuza's chest.
Hidden Snake Blade
Zabuza stood, trying his hardest to swing his blade. Anko was within his reach but couldn't find the energy to swing the sword.
He looked down at the kunai in his chest and at Anko.
"It looks like I underestimated you. Tell me what your name is."
"Anko Mitarashi, I'm a special Jonin, "
"Hah, Special Jonin, my ass."
"That's what I've been saying."
Zabuza felt the strength leaving his body. His mind began to swarm with regrets, and his last moments became unrestful mentally. Deciding to allay some of this, he asked Anko a question.
"Can you do me a favor,"
"Sure, always up for last requests."
"My apprentice, Haku, the one fighting your kid, tells him he's free to do what he wants. "
Zabuza continued
"Tell him I'm sorry for being so cold to him; he was, no, is still too kind for this kind of life; tell him to leave and not end up like me."
"Don't worry, I'll tell him," reassured Anko
Zabuza fell backward and looked toward the sky,
"You know, I always knew I would die on the battlefield, but I never thought that it would be this peaceful.
Zabzua closed his eyes for the last time as the demon of the mist passed on, with a look of peace on his face, one which he never achieved in life.
Naruto was down on one knee, breathing heavily, his body covered in senbon. Over the last few minutes, Naruto had learned a hard truth: He wasn't fast enough. No matter what he did or what his strategy was, he couldn't find a way to counter Haku's speed. Haku would destroy his clones as soon as they appeared, and he was less mobile due to the senbon disabling feeling throughout his body.
Please stop moving, I can get away with not killing you,
I can't. I have to get to Anko,
The masked ninja's demeanor dampened and saddened me about her friend.
No, I can't let that happen, I have
Naruto charged toward a mirror.
The ninja unleashed another flurry of senbon, striking Naruto. He collapsed onto the ground, motionless.
Haku let out a deep sigh behind his mask. He could only hope that Naruto was still alive. No one had ever taken that many senbon and survived. He feared he couldn't keep Naruto alive after the battle. Haku looked toward where Zabuza was fighting, wondering about his whereabouts. Naruto's companion must be very strong for Zabuza to be engaged in such a lengthy battle with her.
Feeling a more intense and malevolent presence than Zabuza, Haku shivered and looked at Naruto's form.
In the dome, a cloak of red bubbling chakra began to form around Naruto. As he slowly began to get up, Haku then noticed the change in Naruto's features: his hair grew spikier, and his nails and canines sharpened. His pupils became slits, his eyes turned red, and the whisker marks on his face grew more pronounced.
Naruto roared, producing a shockwave in the dome, which launched the senbon out of his body and cracked some of the ice mirrors.
Haku sensed danger and immediately went to disable Naruto by planting a senbon into his neck. Haku felt Naruto's fist hit his stomach, sending him flying, destroying the mirror, and sending Haku flying into a tree. In a frenzy, Naruto sped after Haku and shoved his knee into his chest. He then grabbed Haku's arm with such force that Haku howled in pain as he heard the bone snap. Naruto then threw Haku into another tree.
Haku was in a daze; he had barely an idea of what was happening and was in immense pain,
He saw Naruto standing over him, his palm outstretched and claws extended, ready to end Haku's life. Haku was prepared to accept his fate, but suddenly, a voice yelled out to Naruto.
"Naruto, stop."
Haku and Naruto turned to see Anko on top of a giant snake; upon seeing Anko, the chakra around Naruto slowly began to fade, and his features began to return to normal; as he ran toward Anko,
Anko hopped off of Mirai, holding her side, as Naruto ran into full force and began to hug her tightly,
Anko grimaced in pain
"Hey, calm down; I'm not exactly healthy here."
"Sis, I'm so glad you're okay."
"I did not know you had a brother," said Mirai
"He's not biological, but more of a forced surrogate brother at this point."
Naruto's emotions changed on the dime after he heard Mirai talk
"Wait, this snake can talk. That's so cool; also, I completely forgot, you can summon snakes; when were you going to tell me, and can you teach me how."
"This snake is named Mirai," responded Mirai
Their banter was interrupted by Haku's voice.
"Where's Zabuza," he was standing holding his broken arm; his mask had fallen off, revealing his face,
Naruto instantly recognized him. Haku, why" Naruot's voice trailed off, feeling betrayed.
Haku ignored Naruto's question and asked again
"Where's Zabuza"
"He's dead,"
Haku's eyes went wide in shock, and he fell to his knees; tears began to fall from his eyes.
"I can't believe it. I failed; I failed for one purpose."Haku bemoaned
Haku then looked up with tears in his eyes,
"Could you please kill me? I have no use now." said Haku
"No! Why would you want to die" Naruot asked in disbelief
"My one purpose was to live as Zabuza's tool and help him achieve his goals; now that he is dead, I'm nothing,"
"That's so stupid; he doesn't…."
Anko put a hand on Naruto's shoulder.
"I got this Naruto"
She walked forward and stood in front of Haku.
"Before he died, he asked me to tell you that you are free."
"Free" Haku whispered the word
"I didn't really get all of it, but it seems like he wanted me to tell you that you are not his tool and to not end like him,"
"Free" Haku said it agin trying to discern a deeper meaning
Anko began to walk away,
Haku looked up
"Where is his body?"
"About ten minutes in that direction, you'll see the sight of our fight, and it won't be hard to miss."
Haku nodded, staring at the ground.
"What do I do know?"
Naruto stepped foward
"Live for yourself, look Haku, I don't really know you, but I do know that you're super kind and nice, You don't belong to nobody"
"I'm trash. I wasn't even wanted by my father" said Haku
"Then, if no one wants to care about you, let me.
Naruto put a hand out twoard Haku
"Let's be friends"
"Friends?"
"Yeah, so when you're feeling bad about yourself or don't know what to do next, you always know you have someone who cares about you.
Haku smiled lightly and put his hand in Naruto's
"Okay friends."
An idea popped into Naruto's head, and he turned toward Anko, but it appeared she had an idea of what he was going to say,
"No"
"But, you didn't even know what I was going to ask."
"You were going to ask if we can bring Haku back to the village, and the answer is no; we are already going to piss off a lot of people with what we're about to pull with Gato. There is no way we will be able to bring back a foreign missing-nin without issues; it's probably a lot safer for Haku to stay out of the village."
Naruto looked down dejected, but he understood Anko's point,
Haku wiped away tears with his good arm and stood up,
"It's okay; I wouldn't want to go with you anyway; no offense. I don't know what I'm going to do now, and I know Zabuza said I'm free, but I still want to carry on his dream,"
"What was his dream?" Asked Naruto
"To restore our village to a less brutal time, and usurp the current Mizukage and become the next one,"
"So you are going to become a Kage, that's awesome, I'm going to be one too soon, we can be like Kage buddies, "
Haku stammered. "I never said that, I just want to see some of Zabuza's dream accomplished"
"Well if you decide to become Mizukage, I want our villages to be at peace."
"Yhat does sound like a good idea. Haku then took a bow, which He regretted immediately when it aggravated his injuries.
"Do you need us to patch you up," Anko asked
"No, I can manage on my own. Thank you for sparing me".
Haku then turned toward Naruto
"And thank you Naruto for being my friend. "
"Don't mention it,"
Haku then began to gingerly walk toward the direction of Zabuza's body.
"We should help him bury Zabuza's body."
Maybe later, if we have time, we have to go.
"Go where"
"We still have to kick out a billionaire."
Gato was having a nice afternoon in his office, sipping his midday cocktail. He was going through the latest earrings for this month,
When suddenly, one of his men barged into his office
"Sir, we have a problem,"
"If some of the men complain about their pay again, tell them they can choose not to get paid at all."
"No, sir, it's ninja"
"What Zabuza is back already, "
"No ninja from Konoha; a lot of them want to talk to you."
Gato's heart dropped in his chest.
"Is this a joke,"
"No sir"
"How many are there"
"A couple dozen, at least"
"Tell all of the men to gather at the front of the compound,"
Gato opened the gate with all of his available men behind him,
In front of the compound, he saw two dozen ninjas lined up with women in a trenchcoat in front.
"I'll have to ask you all what the hell you are doing here; this country doesn't belong to the land of Fire,"
Anko stopped and began to speak.
" Hello, Gato. My name is Anko Mitrashi, and I'm the leader of this battalion. We ask you to hand over all of her deeds to the ports in the Land of Waves."
Gato choked on the air and began to cough.
Excuses I must not have heard right. You want me to do what,
We want you to hand over your properties to the leaf. The Hokage has taken an interest in this island for potential trade opportunities for the village. After an investigation, we found that you hold all seaports on the islands.
Gato chuckled. What are you offering me for it? I'll need at least a few trillion ryo for a starting offer, Gato said mockingly.
Nothing, I'm afraid you misunderstand; this is not a deal; we are simply informing you to move out of your holdings and hand over your current property to us. If you refuse, we will simply take it by force,
Gato began to laugh lightly before he did not chortle, with his men behind him joining him; oh, that's a wonderful joke, sweetie, but I'm sure they teach math in that village of yours. As you can see, I have a few hundred people behind me; while you have a little over twenty, you don't call the shots here.
Anko rolled her eyes and snapped her fingers, and the ground shook violently. Gato fell flat on his back, and the ground inside the compound split open as Mirai emerged. She wrapped herself around one of the buildings and began crushing it. The building collapsed in seconds, and Mirai stood over the men, mouth open.
Mirai could take you out, so now sign your holdings to us.
Gato began to grasp at straws.
This is fake, just an illusion,
None of the men behind them seemed convenience by his statement
Gato then turned to Zori, "Go and attack that snake."
"Wait for me why."
"Don't worry, it's just an illusion."
Zori gulped and went toward Mirai. He swung his sword and hit her scales, producing a clanging sound in the air. This set off the rest of the men, as they all began to run away straight past the ninja and into the woods. When all was said and done, GAto was left by himself in his standing, dumbfounded.
The ninja enclosed on him, so do you prefer we go through everything, or do you want to do it yourself,
"I hired Momochi Zabuza; he should be back any moment."
"He's already dead; we dealt with him before we got here."
Gato, his last option being dismissed, was left in disbelief. He was beginning to lose his grip on the situation.
Naruto smiled as he watched, hidden in the trees. Operation Uzumaki Ninja Battalion was a wounding success. It also helped that they had a giant snake, but Naruto took that as a testament to how malleable his plan was. As his henged clones followed him through Gato's compound, Naruto looked out over the Land of Waves, the country that was soon to be free.