Last night was wild and I'm impressed with myself for getting this done. I didn't get any sleep at all yesterday morning and my friend dragged me to the mall so I slept when I got home and I woke up at midnight 😂 and immediately started writing this. There were so many episodes to go through and so many POVs I could write but I mostly stuck with Naruto , with a splash of Sasuke, Haku, Zabuza and Kakashi thrown in there since their thoughts are pretty important in these scenes.
This arc might be a bit longer than I'd intended because of my terrible sleeping habits and for that I apologize. On the bright side, I think this might be my favorite chapter from this arc!
There's a lot here for how few words there are and I skipped the majority of Kakashi's side of the fighting because this story is about Naruto and towards the end there are a lot of pov switches but I like it. It makes it feel more like the actual episodes.
Art at the top is Sadness and rage by kazzman99 on DeviantArt!
Anyway...
Onto the chapter!
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Chapter Eleven: Rage
~~~~
When Naruto arrived at the bridge, it was foggy and visibility was low. Sasuke had been attempting to hold off the masked boy the best he could--by the way Sasuke was trapped in ice it was clear that he wasn't quite a match for him on his own. Kakashi-sensei was facing Zabuza again. Sakura was watching, though Naruto was pretty sure she was supposed to be guarding Tazauna. Sasuke's face was covered in scratches and both boys were panting (though it was hard to tell with his thick, modest clothes and mask covering him. His teammate had taken a knee and both boys seemed to need time to gather themselves again (though it was abundantly clear who only needed a second and who needed a few minutes). The fake Hunter Nin would be ready to fight again soon.
The masked boy, whose name he never actually got, stared at him. His blue eyes never left his form so he wasn't sure if he said anything/ The roar of the wind and the water below them made it hard to hear even muffled voices and Naruto knew immediately that in any battle he took part in, he'd need to use the technique Kurama taught him.
The cold feeling was back, coming from the now-masked boy (Ah-something? It was really hard to hear and their surroundings didn't make it any easier on him). He looked at the trapped Sasuke in the ice dome. Suddenly the feel of the brunette's chakra made sense.
"That brat.... It's a Kekkei Genkai." Kurama's voice echoed in his head and Naruto's eyes widened.
It was his bloodline limit, the result of a water affinity and a wind affinity (thank you, Shikamaru and Kurama!) that allowed him to create the ice.
Then the boy was facing him again.
Oh.
He remembered him from their talk before. He wanted to fight him.
He was pretty sure Kakashi-sensei was talking to Zabuza but the way everyone was wearing a damn mask made it difficult to tell if they were saying anything to begin with. He was hesitant to take his eyes off [Ha-something? He heard it again but couldn't hear the end] to actually look to see the expressions in their eyes. It was logical that Kakashi-sensei would be worried about him in this kind of situation so him talking wouldn't be too weird. He was deaf, against a masked opponent who was definitely stronger than him but despite that it was obvious to Naruto that his teacher couldn't move. If he tried to help, Tazuna would be killed because there would be no way for Sakura to hold the A-rank swordsman off on her own.
If the masked boy was talking, Naruto almost felt bad about his silence--he definitely wished he'd just take it off. A kunai went flying and he dodged it expertly, the blade passing right in front of him without leaving a mark on his scratched mask. There were gaps in the dome of ice, between the mirrors, he could see Sasuke's shocked expression through them. The expression turned to a sneer at whatever Zabuza's accomplice was saying. The brunette walked over to the dome, leaving Naruto looking like an idiot. He paused at the dome of ice, only for a moment, before passing through it completely.
The blond was faced with a choice and a lot of assumptions. He was pretty sure the brunette didn't care for violence, or at least killing--though he suspected that it only extended to those outside of the designated target. All of the scratches he'd seen on Sasuke's exposed skin were in his non-vitals and they'd witnessed the older boy's accuracy for themselves. He expertly placed Zabuza into a death-like state with a senbon from a tree a good ten to fifteen meters away. He was missing on purpose. Naruto only hoped it was because he was reluctant to kill and not because he was toying with his prey. That was where the choice came in. He could stay outside the dome and wait for him to do whatever he was going to do to Sasuke (and hope that somehow his teammate won) or he could go in after them both.
It was stupid. Really stupid and if Shikamaru or Shino or Choji or even Lee found out he'd probably get a scolding from them all--especially because he knew exactly how dumb it was. If he went in, they both would be trapped but they'd have a better shot against the stronger, older shinobi. By staying out he'd just be useless again, and any harm that came to Sasuke--no matter how much he disliked him, even if their relationship was improving--it would be blood on his hands. He couldn't just leave Sasuke to die, or get more hurt.
He watched the ice dome, senbon shot at Sasuke from all directions and for once he and Sakura were on the same wavelength.
"Sasuke!"
"Sasuke-kun!"
Everyone's focus went to the mirrors, it was obvious they were needed for the attack. Naruto could sense enough chakra coming from them to be clones and from the outside it was hard to tell where the real one was at all. Fire wasn't likely to do much, the masked boy was too smart for something like that and Naruto didn't doubt that Sasuke tried his Great Fireball Technique before he arrived. He channeled his inner Shikamaru.
They could try breaking it from both sides at once but that required coordination he and Sasuke didn't have yet. A single misplaced attack could easily hit each other instead of the masked shinobi and his mirrors. If the mirrors broke inward then Sasuke could get hurt or trapped. The best plan of action was to break them from the inside and if Sasuke didn't have the power on his own then he'd have to join him.
"Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash."
Naruto jumped into the ice mirror dome.
Sasuke's face was priceless but there wasn't much time to laugh (but boy did he want to).
He could feel the gazes on his back--and see Sasuke's angry sneer right in front of his face--but he was used to it. Everyone assumed he was an idiot, that was fine. Naruto was good at improvising and if he could just get Sasuke to cool down enough to cooperate they could get out of the situation fairly quickly.
Shikamaru would probably have a full strategy in mind by now and Choji's clan techniques might have been enough on their own to take the mirrors out. Shino probably had bugs that could just eat through the ice. Lee was the only one that might struggle but Naruto also knew that Lee could out-speed the masked shinobi. The brunette was fast but Lee could move faster with weights on, if he took them off then that force may be enough to destroy them.
Sasuke was scolding him while he was lost in thought but Naruto didn't care to listen. He'd call his reasons stupid and say the blond was an idiot but he didn't understand. Maybe they weren't friends, but they could be. Naruto couldn't say anymore that he didn't care about the older boy at all and he didn't want to lose a bond before even seeing what it could be like to have. Sasuke tended not to care, he didn't want to get close to people. It was obvious to Naruto that he did but he also hated himself for it and felt weakened by it.
Naruto would just have to show that it made you stronger.
"When a person has something precious they wish to protect, that's when they can truly become strong."
There was definitely more to the masked boy than Zabuza's Accomplice. It looked more and more like Zabuza was family, maybe more than family--regardless of the nature of their relationship, it was clear that he cared about Zabuza.
Sasuke wouldn't understand the choice he made--and if he did he'd deny it for the rest of his life--but that was okay. It wasn't something he'd done without thinking and he wasn't about to sit there trapped and argue with the ravenette while their opponent watched and listened.
When the older boy finished yelling at him he stood shakily and formed a series of hand signs Naruto recognized.
Apparently Naruto was wrong about his assumption about Sasuke.
The blue-clad Uchiha blew fire from his mouth at the mirrors. As Naruto expected, it had no effect. There was no way a C-rank technique could outperform a Kekkei Genkai so easily, at least not at Sasuke's strength. Maybe if he had the power of an elite jounin or Anbu or a Kage behind him. Not as a genin though.
White light filled the dome and both boys were forced to squint their eyes, only to be blown backward, hitting the ground hard.
He was fast but Lee was still faster. While he couldn't keep up with Lee at his fastest, not yet, he could at least follow the masked boy's movements. Within the dome it was also easier to sense where their opponent's body really was, but not by much and not without concentrating or spending chakra he'd likely need later.
He made a mental note to practice more with Lee because he really needed to get faster.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Naruto summoned a number of clones, ignoring Sasuke's comical shout of don't. He needed to see his top speed and with the clones' memories he might be able to tell what mirror he was in.
His clones were gone in seconds and from where he was standing on the ground he could barely follow the dark blur the older shinobi left behind as he moved. A part of him wanted to end this as friends solely so he could see a spar between him and Lee. The other part wanted to end this as friends because it was so obvious now that the older teen didn't want to kill them at all.
He'd had plenty of chances to do it and while he was hiding in the mirrors, Naruto and Sasuke had no way of touching him. Yet all of his attacks barely touched them. It was enough to cause pain, to make them feel completely useless, to make them want to give up. Naruto had the distinct feeling it was on purpose, so he didn't have to kill them.
Unfortunately, Naruto didn't plan on giving up. He didn't particularly want to kill him either, didn't really want to kill anyone, but he would if it meant protecting those who were important to him and completing his mission. It was something they had in common and the reason why he thought they had potential to be friends at all.
They were enemies by circumstance but that didn't mean they had to hate each other..
They didn't have to end that way.
His face was bleeding and he was out of breath for the moment but he wasn't going to roll over and die yet. He still had his dreams to fulfil, he had people he had to go home to.
~~~~
Sasuke knew Naruto was an idiot from the beginning. No intelligent or sane person would trap themself, put themself at the mercy of their enemy willingly. It didn't matter that there was a calculating look in his light blue eyes that said otherwise. He was barely reacting to anything anyone was saying, so engrossed in whatever was going on in his head.
"For me, being a Shinobi completely is difficult," The androgynous voice of the masked boy, Haku, echoed in the ice mirror dome. "If I can, I don't want to kill you both nor do I wish to be killed by you. But if you're going to come at me, I'll kill my feelings with a sword and completely become a Shinobi."
Something about Haku's words reminded him of Naruto. They never talked about it (they rarely talked at all) but it seemed like something he would say. The blond wasn't violent, he loved to spar and hated being useless but he wasn't violent and he couldn't see the youngest member of their team enjoying taking lives. Both boys knew that allowing enemies to live wasn't always an option though.
"This bridge is the battleground that connects each of us to our dreams. I, for the sake of my dream and you for the sake of yours. Please don't hold it against me. I want to protect the person dearest to me..." It was obvious to everyone listening who he was talking about. "I work for that person, I fight for that person and I want to make that person's dream a reality. That's my dream. For the sake of my dream, I will completely become a Shinobi... and kill you guys!"
He raised a senbon filled hand and Sasuke noticed a change in Naruto's expression. Sasuke found himself smirking with him.
This was where their battle truly began.
Naruto, being an idiot again, created more clones that were almost instantly taken out but Sasuke could just barely follow his movements. Either Haku was getting slower or Sasuke was adjusting to the speed he moved. He reluctantly wondered if Naruto was doing it on purpose before brushing the thought to the side. There was no way the Dobe was that smart...
Right?
Sasuke wasn't so sure anymore.
He did it again (honestly, how much chakra did the blond have??) and the Uchiha kicked some ice into the air. He could see the trail the boy left behind but he lacked the speed he needed.
He and Naruto were shot backwards and when Naruto tried again Sasuke was ready. He aimed his Great Fireball Jutsu directly at the masked shinobi. It was too slow and he dodged it but it came close. That meant he just needed to time it properly.
When Haku went after the last one he sent another one. It singed his pants. Almost there.
"Naruto, can you still move?" Shadow clones used a lot of chakra (he tried it once, how Naruto managed so many was a mystery to him) and the blond had to be running low.
"Hmm?" Naruto turned to him and took a second to process what he said. "Yeah, I'm fine."
Sasuke disagreed. They'd have to try something else.
He was about to tell Naruto to run outside instead of using the clones but he apparently had the same idea. The blond charged one of the gaps and Sasuke prepared his fire technique. He stopped Naruto easily and sent a senbon into Sasuke's shoulder.
He still wasn't trying to kill them.
He ripped out the senbon.
"Do it again. That was good." He could see the frustration Naruto was feeling in the way his every muscle was tense--not immobile but coiled and ready to strike at anything.
"All right."
It was a weird feeling, having someone trust you so wholeheartedly, especially when that someone hated your guts--but did he? Wasn't it Sasuke that started everything, that used to rile Naruto up on purpose?
They charged opposite sides of the mirror dome.
"This won't go the way you've planned..." A senbon hit Sasuke's shin and several others hit his arms and shoulders.
He screamed and Naruto turned. Senbon hit the blond as well, sticking out of his back like he was a pin cushion. Damn it!
He could hear Sakura scream outside of the mirrors but Sasuke couldn't allow himself to focus on that. If he got distracted now, like Naruto had, it would be the last mistake he ever made. Naruto twitched on the ground, the needles in his back making it difficult to move.
"S-sa-ku-ra..."
Sasuke cursed himself. There had to be something he could do! Out of the corner of his eye he could see Naruto standing up shakily.
"I'll do something about it."
This guy... he really didn't know when to quit.
"It's pointless to struggle," Haku warned but Naruto didn't respond with the witty retort Sasuke was expecting.
He formed the Ram seal with his hands.
"Here I go..."
Chakra whirled around him, so much it was almost tangible. How did he still have so much chakra after all those clones? Was Naruto even human?
He ran at one of the gaps and when Haku appeared in front of him, he jumped and changed directions but the brunette was right behind him.
"Naruto, behind you!" Senbon flew at the blond's body, piercing him thoroughly and sending him to the ground. He didn't move.
"It's impossible for you to get out of here. I mean it."
Sasuke ran to Naruto.
"Can you stand?" He refused to believe that the tone of his voice held concern. Anyone who said otherwise was a liar. He didn't respond, but pushed himself up anyway, senbon still sticking out of his back, chest and shoulder. "Next time don't waste your chakra! You're playing right into his hands!"
Naruto looked at him, face pale.
"I know."
He fell back down.
He watched Haku's movements closely, trying not to worry about Naruto too much. Every mirror he hopped to, every movement of his hand filled with senbon. He saw everything. Sasuke grabbed Naruto's limp (and oddly light) body and moved just before more senbon could hit either of them.
He placed the blond down as gently as he could, out of breath and severely weakened. When he looked up, Haku backed away.
"Those eyes... It can't be."
Sasuke's eyes were red. His left eye had a single comma-like symbol around the pupil and the right had two.
He could see, if only a little bit. Now he could follow the real body as he hopped mirror to mirror. But the battle couldn't go on much longer. He was low on chakra and wouldn't be able to maintain it long. He was out of breath and weak, his muscles were aching and he still had senbon sticking out of his body.
He was expecting Haku to come for him but that wasn't what he did at all. Sasuke barely had any time to react before he saw just what the masked shinobi was really aiming for.
Naruto.
He used a pulse of chakra to get to the blond faster in hopes of blocking the blow.
~~~~
The fog on the bridge was thick, so thick Kakashi wondered how Zabuza himself could even see in it. On top of the terrible conditions he couldn't help but worry about his two students that were trapped in the Ice Mirrors. Neither of them were ready to kill someone, though he'd heard that Naruto had threatened Mizuki's life that night, Kakashi knew that the blond was no killer. It was easy to say you could do something before actually experiencing it. Taking a life was something few shinobi enjoyed and he was willing to bet even Zabuza, master of the silent killing technique, didn't actually enjoy it. A job was a job. That was the way shinobi were and when money was tight, well, there were few things people wouldn't do in order to survive.
That didn't mean that Zabuza would be walking away from this alive. Kakashi hated taking lives, he'd taken so many in his years as a shinobi, friend (Friend Killer Kakashi...) and enemy alike. But he had to save his client and he had to save his students and unfortunately that meant that the swordsman was collateral damage.
He forced himself to stay calm. Sakura was standing guard on Tazuna but she was no match for Zabuza.
Killing Kakashi wasn't Zabuza's priority, it wasn't what he was sent to do. He was being paid to kill the bridge builder. It was only rational he'd go after him while he left Kakashi wondering what he would do. The sharingan user moved quickly, stepping in front of both Tazuna and Sakura but it didn't slow the Kiri nin.
He swung his Kubikiribocho. Blood sprayed. Sakura screamed.
He took the hit and remained steadfast in blocking his student and client, using one hand to cover the bleeding wound on his chest.
"K-Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura's relieved call was ignored.
"You were late entering to guard, Kakashi," Zabuza taunted. "Your whole hearted intent to help those kids has gone to your head and it seems to have clouded your Sharingan with even heavier fog. Even though you have those impressive eyes, your ability to read your enemy's movements is getting cloudy. Amuse me more, Kakashi. I want to repay my debt in an amusing way. Don't worry. Any time now, Haku is going to defeat those kids"
It didn't help his worrying at all but it wasn't really supposed to. Zabuza lifted his sword once more.
"You better apologize to them in tears when you're in the next world for your lack of strength" The bandaged swordsman laughed as he faded back into the mist.
"Sasuke-kun will be defeated...?" If that was what Sakura was afraid of, then she needed a dose of reality. She shook her head. "That's not true! Not by that guy! He won't be defeated!"
Sasuke, as much as Kakashi cared about his student, wasn't the end-all-be-all of shinobi. He was called a prodigy but the reality was that that wasn't the case. Sasuke was better than the average fresh-faced genin, that was true and he was very smart for his age, but he was no genius. Itachi had been a genius, Kakashi had been hailed a genius, Orochimaru was a genius, but Sasuke sat at just above average. Not quite the genius that only appeared once in a generation, not quite the way the village made him out to be.
There would always be a ninja stronger than you, no matter how strong you were and Sasuke was no different. Kakashi had no idea how to get that through his oldest student's head.
"Naruto won't either!"
He supposed that was progress. At least she was thinking about the blond at all, even if he was an afterthought.
"That's right," Sakura paused to look at him. "I... Believe in their strength. Naruto is the Number 1 Unpredictable Ninja and Sasuke is a part of one of the most excellent clans in Konoha!"
Zabuza's eyes widened at the implication. Sasuke didn't have his Sharingan yet but Zabuza didn't need to know that, he just needed to make the Kiri nin doubt his apprentice. Something inside of him itched to brag about Naruto's heritage too but he couldn't. No one could know about that yet.
"Yes. His name is Uchiha Sasuke. He bears within his body the famous Kekkei Genkai of the Uchiha Clan!"
"He's the sole survivor of that tragic clan?!" Zabuza's face and voice conveyed the worry he felt and only proved that the words he'd said earlier, about his apprentice being a tool, wasn't the whole story.
Kakashi was willing to bet that he said it to keep his weakness a secret. Luckily, the Sharingan-eyed jounin wasn't one go to after children to take down an enemy.
"No wonder he grows so quickly, but... That's the same as Haku!" He gripped the handle of his sword and began to fade into the mist once more. "No one's ever beaten that secret Jutsu of Haku's... Not one person in the past... Well then, it's about time I settled this too, huh?"
Kakashi got into position.
"Sakura! Don't move from this spot!" He ordered.
"Ah... Uh... Okay!"
Kakashi took off after the swordsman from the mist and disappeared into the fog.
He was going to put an end to this.
~~~~
When Naruto opened his eyes, his vision was blurred. When it cleared the masked boy (Haki? Haku? What had Zabuza been saying? Why couldn't they speak louder?) was on the ground, outside of his mirrors. Sasuke was standing in front of the blond, protecting him. For a moment he felt relief. He did it. Sasuke really did it.
His relief was short-lived when he saw Sasuke sway just a little.
"Sasuke...!"
The ravenette turned his head and gave Naruto something that was almost a smile. Blood was dripping from the corner of his mouth and with his shoulders turned the way they were Naruto could clearly see the senbon needles piercing him. There were a lot. He looked like a blue pincushion and as funny as the thought would've been if it were just a thought, Naruto wasn't laughing. Sasuke took a hit meant for him. Why? Why did people keep doing that? Sasuke didn't even like him! They weren't even acquaintances, let alone friends. Why didn't he just distract him? Why would he just stand there and take it?!
He couldn't understand.
"W-what--pression is--at? You... idiot..." Sasuke's breathing was labored and it almost looked like he was trying to tease him.
He didn't understand. Feelings he wasn't used to, that he couldn't quite name, welled up within him. It was more than sadness but he couldn't explain how.
"W-why...?!" His voice shook as he demanded answers. "You protected me...?" His brain couldn't handle it because it made no sense.
"How the hell... should I know?" Sasuke swayed a little and his eyes became distant.
"Sasuke? Sasuke?! Sasuke!" With each shout of the Uchiha's name he got more desperate.
The older boy's head drooped before a smirk settled on his face. He was facing the blond just enough for him to read his lips.
"You... I hated you."
Nothing made sense.
"Why?!" He never understood that either. He'd never done anything to Sasuke, in fact he tried being friends with him at first but then... "Why me?!"
Sasuke didn't say anything and rage began to boil within him.
"I never asked for your help!"
"I don't know... My body... just moved on its own."
Sasuke fell backwards. It was almost in slow motion. Naruto caught him as carefully as he could, trying not to touch the senbon that were poking out of the pale boy's body while also trying not to mess with the ones in his own.
"Sasuke!"
"That man... Until I defeated... my brother... I absolutely refused to die, that's what I decided, but..." Sasuke was speaking too quietly to hear but the blond could just barely read his lips. Sasuke reached up with his right hand but didn't touch him with it. "You, don't die..."
His hand fell onto his stomach. His head fell against Naruto's chest and his dark eyes fell closed. The blond hugged his limp body close, blue eyes full of tears that couldn't fall.
Across from them, Zabuza's helper began to rise again. He couldn't hear what he was saying but he saw him bow slightly before he turned away. His frustration grew with every passing second. He was too weak! He couldn't hear! Now Sasuke was gone because of him and his last wish was for Naruto to somehow survive. He melted back into his ice mirrors.
"Shut up!" He didn't know what he was saying but he wanted him to stop. What he said didn't matter, who he was didn't matter. It didn't matter that they could've been friends. It didn't matter that things didn't have to be this way, that they could've just stopped. "I won't forgive you."
Naruto had never felt such strong emotions before. Rage and sadness and loss and regret surged through him like a tsunami. Dust and smoke whirled around him but he wasn't paying attention.
"Brat, you have to calm down!" Kurama's warning fell on deaf ears (literally). "If you keep this up you'll---ave to look! ---lly dead!"
Naruto wasn't listening.
Red-orange chakra whirled around him like a tornado, ripping up the ground around him.
Blue eyes turned red with slitted pupils and his iconic whisker marks became feral looking, his pearly white teeth becoming elongated and sharp.
"I'm going to kill you!"
Naruto was crouched like an animal and could no longer hear even pieces of Kurama's protests, too focused on the masked nin before him. On the boy who killed his teammate. The senbon still buried in his body were ejected and his healing accelerated. His nails grew long and sharp like claws.
~~~~
Haku had never experienced anything like that before. Of course, the Sharingan boy wasn't actually dead--or he shouldn't be, he didn't hit any of his vitals. He thought the blond boy would've been able to figure it out but he did seem to be reliant on his emotions to steer him so it was possible that his emotions had clouded his judgement.
Or he was an idiot.
The androgynous boy never expected the vile, tangible, red chakra that leaked out of the blond and swirled around him like a storm. Being in its presence felt horrible, full of hatred and darkness. He'd never felt anything so strong.
The chakra got thicker and more abundant and the blond's appearance changed more as it grew. Sharp teeth and claws with piercing red eyes with cat-like pupils. The cute whisker marks that decorated his cheeks now looked thicker, almost sketchy and only added to the feral look. The senbon Haku had thrown at Naruto shot back out and his skin steamed as it healed. The cuts that had decorated the blond's skin from his attacks were gone without even a scar. It was as if they never existed.
The chakra formed the shape of a fox's head with dark fur surrounding the eyes and rows of sharp teeth in its mouth.
Who was this boy?!
What was he...?
He looked nothing like he did before. The determination he had before was there, stronger than anything Haku had ever seen but there was something else there too. Murder. Bloodlust. Something dark.
His reluctance to cause any real harm was gone, buried with the rest of his emotions outside of the rage he was displaying, the rage that was giving him power.
He was coming.
Haku readied his senbon and threw them.
The vile chakra burned them.
What?!
~~~~
The change in the atmosphere between himself and Zabuza changed in an instant. It was heavy, and full of hatred and anger. The chakra he could feel was vile and familiar and it made him sick to think about, to be around.
He thought it was coming from Zabuza at first, before he realized where he'd felt it before.
Twelve years earlier, on the night the Kyuubi was released from its host and brutally attacked the village.
Naruto. Naruto's seal, did it break? Now, of all times?!
He didn't want to believe that he was right.
Something was very, very wrong.
~~~~
Zabuza had never felt such foul chakra before. He'd assumed it was Kakashi's but quickly realized that whatever it was, wherever it was coming from, it was too large and too dark to be the Copy Nin's. No human he'd ever met had chakra that sinister.
It was immense, so large he couldn't pinpoint exactly where it was coming from.
Who was it coming from?
Surely they weren't human... right?
~~~~
Naruto had never felt so much power coursing through him. He found Haku's location easily and went after him, not wasting a drop of chakra and using the balls of his hands to propel himself further, faster.
He was hardly aware of anything other than the masked shinobi's position and his own anger. He couldn't feel any pain. The older shinobi dodged before he made it to the mirror and suddenly dozens of copies were watching him.
They shot their senbon at him and they made contact but Naruto couldn't feel it. Chakra welled within him and with the large pulse, they all shot out and the holes they left behind healed immediately. The clones vanished and he ran after the only mirror with the masked boy in it, landing a powerful punch.
It shattered under his fist.
He shot at the blond from one of the shards but Naruto was ready and easily spun out of the way. He could feel everything, every ounce of chakra around him. His nose was better. His vision was better. If he wasn't so angry and there wasn't a roaring in his ears from the speed of his movements his hearing might've been better too. He couldn't remember ever moving like this before, even when he trained with Lee. He still wasn't that fast but it was enough for now.
The brunette made a run for the remaining mirrors but Naruto easily caught his arm, releasing another powerful pulse of chakra.
It didn't feel like he was using any at all.
Chakra built up in his fist, keeping a tight grip on the Kiri shinobi with his other hand, and punched, shooting the older boy's body straight through the ice mirrors. He hit the ground hard and rolled with the force.
The porcelain mask broke and the remaining mirrors shattered.
When he stood back up, Naruto took off after him again. Pieces of his mask fell away, revealing the feminine face of the boy from that morning.
His punch stopped just centimeters from the older teen's face.
He looked at him with his stupid kind eyes and all Naruto could see was his stupid pretty smile from their first meeting.
His red eyes faded back to blue and his sharp claws and teeth returned to their normal bluntness. His whisker marks once again becoming neat lines across his cheeks instead of the thicker ones they'd been during his rampage.
It wasn't a surprise, but it was still hard to think that the person who'd smiled at him so kindly had done this.
"Even though I killed your dear friend, you can't kill me?"
It wasn't about that, not just that anyway. It was because none of this had to happen! No one had to die. It was so clear that he wanted to be a pacifist, that was why he missed their vitals so many times.
Vitals.
Naruto's brain went back to the state Sasuke's body was in, trying to remember where the senbon needles had been sticking out of. He was barely bleeding, so that couldn't have killed him, he might've sustained a head injury but he was talking well enough before... Why couldn't he remember where they were? He couldn't look back, couldn't take his eyes off the faster shinobi to check.
What had Kurama been trying to tell him...
Kurama! The Seal!
It didn't matter right then.
He reeled his fist back and punched him anyway, this one lacking the strength of his previous one. The taller boy fell and spit up some blood but quickly got back up.
"--at happened--force from--ment ago? You can't---e with that kind of strength." He rubbed the blood from his mouth. "Wasn't he someone special to you?"
He was taunting him. The more he brought Sasuke up the more he believed that Sasuke wasn't really dead. He shouldn't want Naruto to kill him, shouldn't want the rage monster he'd become with Kurama's chakra powering him up to rain hell upon him. Not when he was so strong and not when he cared so deeply for Zabuza. It didn't make sense.
The boy said something about pity and not killing someone when they should but Naruto was barely listening. He knew from the beginning that this didn't have to end with blood and he believed it entirely.
He just needed to get the older teen to listen.
~~~~
When Kakashi felt the Kyuubi's chakra become more potent he knew he had to act quickly. If he didn't then the seal could weaken enough for the beast to escape.
He pulled a scroll from his vest and cut his thumb, smearing the blood down the paper and waving it around like a ribbon while he spoke to the Kiri swordsman.
"Do you hear me, Zabuza? We're both busy men. I know it's against your style, but I think it's about time we stopped playing around. Why don't we settle this once and for all with the next move?" He was speaking to nothing, he couldn't see Zabuza at all but he knew he could hear him.
"Interesting. What can you possibly do in this situation? Go ahead and show me, Kakashi."
The silver haired jounin performed a number of hand seals and slammed the scroll into the ground, covering it with his hands.
"Ninja Art: Summoning! Doton: Fanged Pursuit Technique!"
"Whatever you do won't work! You have absolutely no idea where I am right now. I, however, know exactly where you are and what you're about. Kakashi, you're in my hands now."
Kakashi's dogs disagreed.
~~~~
I actually like this chapter a lot. I don't know why, it's not actually that different from the others but I do! Plus I finished it earlier than I expected. Hopefully that means I can get my sleep schedule on track now 😂
Next week will be the thrilling conclusion to the Wave arc! Will Haku live? Will Zabuza? You'll find out next Saturday! For real this time because there are only two episodes left of the arc and the only reason I didn't finish in this chapter is because it takes twice as long to write with the episode and one of the two is Haku telling his life story--mostly anyway.
Bright side! With Haku's mask off I don't need to keep writing that he's talking but Naruto can't hear him! Why do so many characters wear masks or cover their mouths in this show? It makes writing a deaf character really difficult, especially when they need to hear certain information.
Also next week, Naruto reunites with Iruka-sensei, Shikamaru, Shino, Choji and Lee (not Gai yet, but soon)! Lots of family love going around! Yay!
Thank you guys for sticking with me for 10 weeks, by the way! I can't believe I've been consistent for that long. Really it's thanks to you guys though! So thank every single one of you for reading!
Special thanks to those who comment/vote and have added this story to their reading list! You guys are the best of the best and your encouragement keeps me going!
Also criticism! Because I write these in one go most of the time and miss things that don't make sense (or issues with continuity because I wrote it spread out). I need you guys to tell me what I did wrong so it can be fixed next time! Just be kind about it, is all I ask!
I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did! Don't forget to vote for your favorite pairing and on Hiruzen's survival!
See you next Saturday!
~KoreanOreo