ꜱʜᴀᴅᴏᴡꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍɪꜱᴛ | ᴛᴇɴᴛᴇɴ ꜰꜰ|

Chapter 12

Standing there was a man with a crowd of thugs behind him.

"Gato, I don't understand. What is all this? Why are you here? And who are these thugs you brought with you?" Zabuza demanded, his eyes narrowing.

"Well, you see, there's been a slight change in plan," Gato replied, a sinister smirk on his face. "According to the new plan, you die right here on this bridge, Zabuza."

"What?"

"That's right. You're too expensive. So I've decided to take you off the payroll. Of course, even these thugs I've brought with me cost something. So if you could manage to slaughter a few of them before they take you down, I'd appreciate it. Think you can manage that, demon ninja of the Mist? Look at you, you look about as demonic as a wet kitten!" Gato mocked, and his thugs laughed derisively.

"Well, well, Kakashi. It seems our fight is at an end. Since I'm no longer Gato's employee, Tazuna is safe. We have no quarrel," Zabuza said, a hint of resignation in his voice.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," Kakashi responded, his stance relaxing slightly.

Gato walked forward with his cane and stood over Haku's body. "That reminds me, you little punk. You grabbed me and nearly broke my arm." He poked Haku's face a couple of times with his shoe. "I've been meaning to repay you for that." He smirked and then kicked Haku hard.

Mizuki, standing beside Kakashi, clenched his fists in anger, his breath coming in heavy pants. Kakashi placed a calming hand on Mizuki's shoulder, sensing his fury. Meanwhile, Naruto furiously ran toward Gato. "Get away from him!"

"Stop." Kakashi grabbed Naruto and held him back. "Use your brain."

"What about you, Zabuza? You gonna let him do that?" Naruto demanded. Mizuki was just as upset, but he knew there was a larger grief tormenting his heart.

"Be quiet, you fool," chided the Mist ninja. "Haku is dead. What does it matter?"

"What? You mean you can just stand there and watch him get treated like a dog? You and Haku were together for years. Doesn't that mean anything?" Naruto questioned, his voice shaking with emotion.

"You don't understand the way of Shinobi," Zabuza told him. "I merely used him, just as Gato used me. Now it's over. His usefulness is at an end. The loss of his strength and skill, yes, that means something to me. But the boy, nothing."

Mizuki began to remembered Haku's words.

"It was not my desire to be a Shinobi. It's painful. I don't want to kill you."

"I fight for someone who is precious to me. I live for him, and I face death for him so that his dream may become reality. This is my dream."

Haku lived and died for Zabuza. And yet, Zabuza felt nothing and had no regard for everything the boy did for him. It was the way of the Hidden Mist Shinobi, Mizuki remembered how he became a cold-hearted shinobi back then for the village, for his father, for his clan.

"If you mean that, you're an even bigger rat than I thought," Naruto scoffed at Zabuza.

"Okay. That's enough." Kakashi placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Calm down, Naruto. He's not the enemy, not right now."

Naruto pushed his hand away. "As far as I'm concerned, he's enemy number one! Why you... you ungrateful... after everything he did for you. Haku lived for you. He sacrificed everything for you. You never felt anything at all for him?" The blond was on the verge of crying while Zabuza stood wordlessly, his head hung low.

"And if I get stronger, does that mean I'll become as cold-hearted as you are? He threw his life away, and for what? For you and your dreams!" Tears streamed down Naruto's face. "You never let him have a dream of his own, but he didn't care. And you just toss him aside, like he was nothing, a broken tool. Man, that's so wrong. So wrong!"