Ella let out a soft groan as the first rays of morning sunlight streamed through the window. She muttered under her breath, "Shit."
Glancing around the room, she noticed that Sakura was nowhere to be seen, and her clothes and bedding had been meticulously folded. A sense of urgency rushed through her, propelling her into swift action. She hurriedly collected her belongings and dashed into Naruto and Sasuke's room. There, she found Naruto still sound asleep.
She vigorously shook Naruto, her voice laced with urgency. "Naruto, we need to head to the bridge. Our team has already left."
Naruto jolted to attention at the news, rubbing his eyes sleepily. "What happened?" he asked, his grogginess evident. He noticed Sasuke's absence and added, "Where's Sasuke-teme?"
Ella let out an exasperated sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. She swiftly walked over to Naruto's bag, grabbed a set of clothes, and tossed them at him. "They're already at the bridge. We need to go, and please hurry up," she urged, her tone conveying the urgency of the situation.
"Yeah, yeah," Naruto replied, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He quickly got out of bed and started getting dressed.
Ella left Naruto's room and made her way downstairs, where she found Tsunami. "Hey, Naruto is getting ready, and then we're heading to the bridge," she explained.
Tsunami smiled at her and nodded. "Take your time, dear. Breakfast is here if you need it."
Ella returned the smile. "Thank you, Tsunami. I appreciate it." With that, she headed outside to wait for Naruto.
Naruto raced out of the house, a piece of bread in his mouth, and his jacket in hand. "Let's go!" he shouted as he sprinted into the woods in the direction of the bridge.
Ella quickly followed, her longer legs allowing her to catch up with Naruto in no time. "Hey! Wait up!" she called out, closing the gap between them.
Naruto, panting from the run, turned to her with a surprised look. "Whoa, Ella-chan, you're fast now."
Ella and Naruto continued to run deeper into the forest, and after about ten minutes, Ella suddenly halted. She pointed to markings on the trees and several boars that had been chopped up. "Hey, Naruto? You see those markings?"
Naruto examined the knife markings and the boars, puzzled. "Hmm? Yeah, that's weird."
Ella and Naruto leaped down from the trees to get a closer look. Ella realized something concerning. "They're heading back towards Tsunami's house!" She grabbed Naruto's hand and led him in a sprint back in the direction of Tsunami's home.
With determination in her eyes, Ella didn't waste a moment. As soon as she and Naruto returned to Tsunami's home, they found Tsunami being held captive by one of the men. Ella's glare intensified as she nudged Naruto and made a quick plan. "Help Inari; I'll take care of Tsunami. These guys won't be a problem."
Naruto responded with a nod and a confident smirk, immediately jumping down and grabbing Inari just in the nick of time before one of the men could harm him. Ella leaped down right after him, sneaking up behind the other man and swiftly restraining him. With a powerful kick, she sent him sprawling backward, freeing Tsunami from his grasp.
The two men, one brandishing a sword and the other with a stern expression, eyed Ella and Naruto with confusion and annoyance.
"Who are these brats?" the swordsman exclaimed.
"We only want the woman," the other announced.
Ella stepped forward, her arms crossed in a determined stance. "You'll have to go through me to get to her."
Naruto, showing his unwavering determination, shouted, "Me too, believe it!"
The swordsman, twirling his blades confidently, declared, "Heh, if that's how you want to do this, I'll gladly take both of you on."
However, his companion intervened, raising his arm to halt the confrontation. "Hold on," he said, directing their attention to Ella. "The woman next to the weird-looking blond kid, isn't that..."
The swordsman paused, his confusion growing as he inspected Ella more closely. "Huh. Yeah, that looks exactly like her."
The two men were now even more bewildered and uncertain about their next actions, leaving Ella and Naruto cautiously awaiting their decision.
The swordsman finally spoke up, breaking the silence that had fallen over them, and he began to sheath his weapon. "We should probably tell the boss about this."
His companion nodded in agreement. "I agree." The two ninja exchanged a glance and then turned away, their decision made. They started retreating, making their way back to their hidden base.
Ella, somewhat disappointed by the sudden departure, expressed her frustration by crossing her arms and pouting. "Tsk. Cowards. I wanted to fight," she grumbled while her eyes remained fixed on the ground.
Tsunami let out a sigh of relief as Naruto assisted her back onto her feet. She embraced Inari tightly, her maternal instincts kicking in as she checked him over for any injuries. "You can't scare me like that, Inari!"
Inari wore a remorseful expression. "I'm sorry, Mom. I just wanted to stop feeling scared."
Tsunami held him close, her worry and love for her son evident in her embrace.
Inari stood up and approached Naruto and Ella. "How did you know those samurai were coming after us?"
"Well," Naruto began, "Ella noticed a cut-up boar in the forest, and we saw sword markings on the trees. All of them led back here. So, we headed back since we were worried."
"Inari," Naruto continued, a touch of nervousness in his tone, "Sorry about yesterday. Sorry for calling you a sissy." He rubbed the back of his neck with a small chuckle. "Ah, forget it."
Naruto reached out, placing his hand on Inari's head with a warm smile. "You're strong."
Inari looked up at Naruto, shocked, as Naruto casually placed his hands in his pockets. Inari's eyes began to well up with tears, and he hid his face. "Damn it," he muttered. "I decided I wasn't gonna cry anymore. You're going to make fun of me and call me a crybaby."
Ella, equally surprised by Inari's emotional response, prepared to say something to Naruto. What did Naruto say to him that he is reacting that way? However, before she could speak, Naruto addressed Inari.
"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked, looking down, surprising both Inari and Ella.
"It's alright to cry," Naruto continued, offering a reassuring smile as he placed his arms behind his head. "When you're happy."
Ella sighed softly, not wanting to interrupt the emotional moment between Naruto and Inari. "Naruto," she said gently, "we need to head to the bridge. If they attacked here, I'm sure the bridge is in danger."
"Yeah, you're right, Ella-chan," Naruto replied, tearing his gaze away from Inari. He looked back at the boy. "You can handle it from here, right?"
"Yup," Inari affirmed, wiping his eyes.
Naruto and Ella swiftly started running toward the bridge, their concerns growing about the safety of their team. Ella couldn't shake the worry from her mind. If an attack happened here, Zabuza and Haku must already be at the bridge. I hope our team is safe, she thought anxiously.
Naruto and Ella reached the bridge and halted, making sure to mask their chakras to avoid detection by Zabuza and Haku.
"We need to come up with a plan of attack," Ella declared, analyzing the arrangement of everyone on the bridge.
She quickly formulated a strategy in her mind. If we both attack Haku's jutsu from the outside while Sasuke is on the inside attacking, we should be able to take it down easily, Ella thought, plotting their coordinated approach.
"Naruto," Ella exclaimed, turning her attention toward him. Her eyes widened as she noticed he wasn't by her side anymore but had moved onto the bridge, directly in front of Haku, who had emerged from behind the glass mirrors.
"Damn it, Naruto!" Ella sighed in frustration before leaping in front of him, intercepting the incoming kunai thrown by Zabuza.
"Now, that's a little rude, don't you think, Zabuza?" Ella sneered, holding onto the kunai he had thrown at them.
Zabuza narrowed his eyes at Ella, momentarily not recognizing her. "Who in the devil even are you?"
Haku turned to Zabuza, his features hidden behind his mask. "That's Ella—the one I told you about."
Zabuza's eyes widened in realization. "I can't believe she survived..."
After Zabuza's words, everyone turned their attention to Ella, their expressions a mix of pity and fear. Ella retreated slightly, feeling like an outcast among her own teammates.
Kakashi was the first to break the silence, redirecting his gaze to Zabuza. "This ends here and now! I demand answers about what they did to her."
Zabuza chuckled darkly, his gaze fixed on Kakashi. "Why the sudden change, hmm? Besides, I couldn't tell you what they did to her."
Ella looked back, expecting to see Naruto, but realized he was inside Haku's jutsu with Sasuke. "Naruto! You idiot!"
She clenched Zabuza's kunai in her hands and charged at Haku's mirrors. Filling the kunai with her chakra, she stabbed at the mirrors, noticing them forming scratches. "What the hell is this made out of?"
Sasuke spoke up, interrupting Ella's attempts. "You can't break the glass! It isn't normal."
Ella perked up, hearing him. Not normal. That makes sense, but then that means it has to be an advanced bloodline. She thought to herself.
Ella's smirk widened, her eyes shutting out the echoes of Naruto and Sasuke's struggles. She harnessed her chakra, intensifying it in her clenched fist. Abruptly, her eyes snapped open, and she thrust her chakra-infused fist into one of the mirrors, sending a profound crack racing across its surface.
The forceful impact caught Haku's attention, his eyes widening momentarily. Swiftly, he reacted, seizing Ella and hurling her into the mirrors. "I can't let you spoil this chance for me," Haku declared, observing Ella stumble within the confines of the cage.
"Ella!" Sasuke and Naruto's anxious voices echoed through the tense air.
"I'm fine," Ella reassured them once she found her footing, her gaze fixed on the fractured mirror. She then looked up at Haku.
"So, you're genuinely concerned that I might spoil your plans? Then, why confine me in here?" Ella inquired, attempting to divert Haku's attention.
"You're more of a threat than you realize, Ella, especially after what they did to you," Haku retorted.
Ella, upon hearing this, flinched slightly. The mysterious transformation in her appearance weighed on her, and she wasn't eager to uncover the details. "Despite that, I will dismantle everything you've built. You should really contemplate the company you keep."
Haku glared upon hearing Ella's threat, swiftly pulling more senbon from his weapons pouch. He launched them with lightning speed at the three genin. Before Naruto or Sasuke could suffer any more hits, Ella swiftly positioned herself in front of them, absorbing the continuous assault of senbon with audible groans of pain.
Naruto and Sasuke, witnessing the horror of Ella taking the hits, desperately wanted her to evade the attack.
"Ella-chan! Please, stop!" Naruto shouted, tears welling up in his eyes.
"Hn. Naruto is right. You should stop. We can protect ourselves," Sasuke grunted, watching her with evident concern.
Ella chuckled softly, holding her ground as she whispered to them, "I'm sure if you hit that mirror one time hard enough, you two could slip out. I cracked it."
Sasuke shifted his gaze past her to the mentioned mirror, his eyes widening slightly. "You broke the mirror?"
"Let's get started, then," Naruto declared with a smirk.