At the other end of the bridge, Inari arrived with the small group of villagers just in time to see the massacre that was taking place.
While most of them felt a sick watching the carnage, they couldn't look away. They needed to see this through the end.
Gato was running as fast as his stubby little legs could carry him in an attempt to get away from the demon on his tail.
But it was all for naught as Zabuza, even without the use of his arms and multiple weapons sticking out of his body, was able to take out all the cheap thugs he hired and ran him through with a kunai, causing Gato to cry out in pain.
"You and are going to hell together Gato! Look forward to it! I'll let you see if I'm a cute little demon or not in hell."
Roared Zabuza as he mercilessly tore through Gato's body with numerous cuts and lacerations from his kunai before plunging it straight into his heart, causing him to fall off the edge of the bridge and into the ocean, sealing his death.
With his job finally done he made his way back to Naruto and Haku, walking through the corpses he left in his wake.
As he finally collapsed next to the young girl, he motioned Naruto to come closer before whispering something in his ear, causing Naruto's eyes to widen before getting a determined look in his eyes.
"It's time to say goodbye, Haku…Thank you for everything. I'm sorry…" Those were the final words of the feared Kirigakure no Kijin who died, not as a tool or a demon, but as a human, protecting the one he held closest to his heart. He died with a smile on his face.
....
Naruto stared solemnly at the two grave markers before him as he reminisced the last week or so spent in this country.
He experience fear, sadness, anger, love and happiness, along with a cacophony of other emotions. It was a rollercoaster experience that was for sure.
His heart still ached terribly at the thought of the one he had given it to. He hated the fact that he would never again see her soothing smile, hear her beautiful laugh or experience the warmth that she provided him.
He wanted to shout, to scream at the unfairness of it all. He wanted to curl into a ball and cry. Cry for the angel that was taken from him far too soon. But he made a promise.
He promised her that he would be strong for her. He promised that he wouldn't close off his heart. While he didn't think he would ever let anyone in any time soon, he wouldn't become a brooding prick like his teammate either.
He would be the man that his Haku-chan fell in love with. He would be a man she would be proud of. A man who will protect those precious to him, in her honour and her memory.
He will become the man she knew he could become and he would change this world. So nobody will ever experience the pain that he and Haku-chan experienced in their lives.
How he would do that he was unsure, but she believed in him, and that's all the motivation he needs to take on the world. A smile came across his face as he thought this.
She really made a man of him. He felt like a whole new person. Like a huge burden was taken off his shoulders. He felt someone lay a hand on his shoulders and looked to the side to see Kakashi-sensei standing beside him.
"Are you doing OK Naruto?" He questioned.
His student was withdrawn ever since the battle on the bridge, which isn't surprising when the revelations on that day were taken into account.
He could infer that Naruto had some relationship with the girl, Haku, and he was deeply affected from the loss he experienced. He felt a lingering guilt from his role in that event.
He wondered if Naruto hated him for being the one to end the life of the one he loved, but so far he hasn't shown any indication of such.
While that may be the case, he hasn't been as social or boisterous as he normally was. He wanted to know if he was going to be okay.
Naruto tensed a little before relaxing. He was still unsure how to act around Kakashi-sensei. Whenever he saw him. All he could remember was his lightning covered hand piercing the chest of Haku-chan.
While he knew it wasn't Kakashi's fault as Haku-chan intercepted the attack that was actually meant for Zabuza, he still couldn't get the picture out of his mind.
He wasn't sure if he would ever be comfortable around the guy again, but he won't needlessly give into hatred either.
"I won't say I'm fine Kakashi-sensei. It hurts. To know that she's gone. But I have to live on. I know that's what she would have wanted.
I won't waste the life she gave back to me." Answered Naruto. Kakashi just nodded his head and took the time to pay his own respects.
....
We currently find Naruto sitting in the lotus position on the floor of a cottage located deep within the forest of the Wave country.
Zabuza, before he passed away, told Naruto were he could locate their hideout and he left everything in there to the young blonde.
It took Naruto a few hours to find it. It's been two days since the battle and Naruto was still recovering, emotionally, from the ordeal.
He followed the advice of Zabuza though, and was pleasantly surprised by the amount of equipment that was hoarded by the two.
Large amounts of kunai, shuriken, senbon, ninja wire, explosive tags, smoke bombs, blades of varying lengths and even soldier pills were what he found, along with clothes and a large amount of money that Zabuza was saving up.
He felt a little bad by taking these things but shook off his hesitation as it was Zabuza himself that told him to take the equipment and use it how he saw fit.
It was a blessing in disguise for Naruto, who couldn't get quality equipment in Konoha due to the prejudice of the villagers, who either kicked him out of their stores or overcharged him and sold him crappy equipment.
This was evidenced by the blunted and chipped kunai and shuriken he's been using. He gathered those from the training grounds surrounding the village but he knew that he needed better tools as it might save his life someday.
With that in mind he continued to seal the massive haul of equipment into scrolls for easy travel.
He also found, to his amazement, Jutsu scrolls, mainly for "Suiton"and "Fuuton" Ninjitsu, but also different styles and kata for Kenjutsu, along with chakra control exercises.
He knew this would be invaluable to him and his shinobi career and silently thanked the late Kirigakure no Kijin for his help. He never had any direction in his career.
Neglectful teachers coupled with his goofing around really stunted his growth. But now he finally had the motivation, along with the direction he needed to take himself to the next level. He would not waste this opportunity.