"Did you hear that?" Naruto looked up suddenly as he picked up on the sound of a crash, channelling his chakra to try and sense- "I think they're mercenaries!"
"And the Demon Brothers actually fucking came!" Tsunade burst as she recognised the two chakra signatures that were larger than an average mercenary's. "They're in the forest... One Genin is nearby, most likely unaware."
"Shit, what about the Genin team and the Nuke-Nin?"
"Ok," The Sannin furrowed her brow. "Naruto, Shizune, deal with them. I'll go catch up with Kakashi. Turn around and come after us when you're done."
Shizune gave her an assessing look, one which Tsunade returned with a hard stare.
"...Let's go." She nodded.
-Hanako-
He shot up upon hearing a loud noise, silently making his way towards the commotion until he heard the loud peal of Tsunami's scream, quickening his pace.
"Inari?" He hissed under his breath, watching as the sobbing child tried to run past him. "What's going on?"
"N-Ninja." The boy sneered before shaking his head violently. "Th-There are two men t-taking mum away. You have to go save her-"
"I'm already going." He said, speeding out of the wreckage, and slowing to a stop behind them and shouting at the two men-
"Get away from Tsunami-san, you jerks!" He quickly surveyed the area- they were surrounded by water and standing on top of what looked like a jetty.
"Well, well, if it isn't one of the loser ninja Tazuna hired." One of them drawled.
"Inari!" Tsunami screamed, eyes widening with horror as she struggled in her ropes. "Inari, what are you doing? Run away!"
"AHH!" Hanako screeched when he noticed the boy panting as he stood beside him. "You damn brat! You'll only be a liability if you charge into fights you can't handle!"
"I've decided." Inari declared at what was decidedly the worst possible time. "I want to be as strong as my dad! Let go of my mum!"
"Geez, stupid kid." The man to the right of Tsunami said.
"Cut him." His lips stretched into a grin as they both palmed their katanas.
"Sure."
Hanako twitched his fingers, waiting until they left Tsunami before he activated his chakra, tugging Inari harshly against his chest before he switched places with one of the wooden floorboards next to the woman.
"Untie your mum and get out of here." Hanako said quietly before he moved to stand in between the thugs and Inari and his mother. He was handicapped: not only did he have two civilians to protect, he also had two enemies to attack. Their iai showed that their speed was about the same as an average Genin's. He forgot to take his pack where there were more weapons, so he only had a handful of kunai at his disposal.
As Tsunami quickly ushered Inari away, he flung shuriken towards them, watching as they easily deflected the attack. They both had swords and he was shorter and smaller than them.
Gritting his teeth, he pulled out a kunai and deflected the first thug's swipe before using his bare hand to catch the second blade. He snarled at the sting of pain, gasping when the thug tried to yank it out of his grip.
Hanako turned his entire body to roundhouse kick the first man into the face, channelling chakra into his leg and instantly knocking him out before he threw his kunai at the second man's eye, locking his now free hand onto the blade as well.
Hanako watched as it sunk through his socket, the man screaming and clawing at his face.
"K-Kill." Hanako quietly told- ordered himself, drawing out the kunai from the writhing man's head and clutching it in his bloodied, shaking hands.
His head was light and pounding. Adrenaline made his limbs twitch erratically. He couldn't hear anything besides the thudding of his heartbeat, his mechanical breathing, and the pained screams echoing inside his head.
Knocking them unconscious wouldn't be good enough. They'd just get up again and get someone else in danger. As long as they were alive, they could hurt. And if they were dead, they wouldn't cause any more problems.
Besides, shinobi had to kill eventually. It was what they had to do in order to stay alive. Kill, or be killed.
And with that thought in mind, he sliced straight through the man's throat, stilling for a single shocked second before he turned to the other unconscious thug and... doing the same.
It was so easy- the kunai was far from blunt and the skin on the throat was just so delicate. These two men were both little, tiny ants in the population of the world. Yet they died so simply. Like how half his Clan had died so simply.
He refused to acknowledge the bubble of guilt in his gut that told him that they might have had families or lovers or friends or-
But so many people died. He thought to the times he'd stare and stare at the Memorial Stone, tracing the names of his relatives over and over again. So many people died and so what if he just caused two more to do so?
This was just how the world was: cruel.
As he stared at the two corpses, he didn't notice the two forms slowly rising from the water around him.
"Behind you!" "Watch out!"
Two voices cried out at once, cutting through the soundless haze of his mind, and Hanako snapped to look at the speakers, feeling as though one of the voices were familiar-
"Uzumaki. " Hanako spat, anger curling in his stomach (because any emotion apart from shock or guilt would be better.)
He shifted to fully face the boy when the metallic sounds of chains alarmed him. Hanako snapped his head towards the source of the noise, eyes widening as he saw two shuriken chains shooting straight for him and he froze in horror when he realised that it was too late to dodge-
He couldn't dodge. It was too late. He was going to- like those men- he was going to-
(Warm, thick blood coated his hand- the red was an embodiment of the sin he couldn't erase from himself. From this day- from that very second- he'd become a killer. A murderer. And that was something that could never be revoked because those men were truly, truly dead.
They were just ants in this large world- But they were dead. Small, insignificant- Dead. He was a shinobi and he'd be bound to kill eventually- Dead. Dead. Dead-)
'Dead. And this,' Hanako thought, feeling a certain kind of terror that the man he killed must've been feeling, 'Must be my punishment.'
Kill, or be killed. Once he started to go by that code, he had to accept the possibility of him dying but- he didn't want to die.
An orange blur appeared right beside him in a gust of wind and the boy tugged at his arm, causing him to stumble a bit-
The first chain struck the wooden wall and it shook Hanako out of his stunned daze. With an angry yell, Hanako tugged his arm right back, stumbling from the force of the pull.
The fingers burnt against his arm, worse than the time he'd been scorched by a Katon Jutsu. It was the hand of a monster, a demon- someone worse than him- on Hanako. This- This wretched boy touched him.
(Killing two thugs had been so stressful; how could this child-looking thing possibly kill so many and still touch him without feeling remorse or guilt?)
What was it trying to do? Hold him still so that he'd get hit? Kill him like it had killed his aunt, his brother, his family?
Hanako glared at that thing, ignoring the flash of hurt in those wide, blue eyes- like as if it thought it was innocent. The very thought filled him with a blistering heat of rage before a chill went up his spine, time seeming to stop for a second-
The second chain wrapped around his right knee and he daren't look down, throat thick, chest heavy, heart stopping, as he felt his skin split, a heavy pressure and an explosion of pain.
-Shizune-
She cursed, throwing a senbon at the thrashing and screaming boy, forcing him into unconsciousness.
Naruto was stressed- she could feel the guilt, panic, and fear well up in his chakra but his moves were efficient as he carefully removed the senbon in his neck, shrugging off his haori and folding it into a makeshift pillow before elevating the severed leg onto one of the supporting logs of the jetty in a single moment.
If it wasn't for the dire circumstances, she would've shown her immense pride in his development. She leapt onto the water, kunai spinning on her finger. She ducked under their predictable gauntlet strikes before, with pinpoint accuracy, nicked Meizu on his unguarded wrist and Gozu on the face.
They'd be dead in a minute.
She created a Kage Bunshin to watch and finish them off before she headed towards Naruto and the other Genin.
His face was ashen as he nodded to Shizune. "I-I'll go get water, antiseptic and some bandages." He murmured, eyes flickering onto the messily torn stump, still spurting blood before turning away and tripping over the lower half of the Genin's leg. If it was possible, his face lost even more colour. His hand flew to block his nose and mouth before he audibly gagged, accidentally smearing blood over his face. Shizune watched, worried, as he stumbled towards the wreckage of Tazuna's house.
Brows furrowed, she wiped her mind clean of unnecessary emotions (what a stupid brat, he did this to himself- naïve children with that level of ignorance always gets killed earlier on in the game-) and called upon her Iryo Ninjutsu, green chakra spreading across her palms and over the wound.
This boy would have to quit being a front-line ninja; it would be stupid to continue fighting with that kind of injury. (She'd say it would be 'impossible' but Naruto's defied that enough that she daren't call anything 'impossible' by now).
Naruto returned silently, setting down a drink bottle and a roll of bandages. He gently raised Hanako's head and replaced his haori with a little pillow tucked under his arm. He then began to wipe at the blood stains with a grim set to his mouth, ignoring how the severed lower leg was leaking more and more pools of red.
It almost made Shizune laugh humourlessly. This little Genin had done something that even full-fledged adult shinobi would've gotten angry about. Naruto'd saved the boy from being cleaved into two and suffering a very, very painful death.
And the leg lost? His actions were his responsibility. He was a Genin, and that meant 'shinobi' no matter what Academy teachers would try and say. To spit into the face of your saviour...
And Naruto- he hadn't gotten angry at all. For a single moment, it made Shizune wonder whether or not any of the talks they've had had gone through his head. He'd gotten frustrated, guilty- guilty?!- and... pitying.
"He..." Naruto started, watching Hanako's scrunched up face with something like sadness before he shook his head, biting at his lip. "Shizu-nee, I'm going to catch up with Tsunade-baachan. I can't do anything useful here. Take-" He sighed, "Take care of Hanako."
Shizune searched his face for a moment before nodding, "I will. Stay safe."
Without further ado, he vanished in a Shunshin.
She sighed wearily, "If you look at Naruto with anything but prejudice, you'll realise just how much he cares for you, even if you've done nothing to deserve it, Hanako. ...I wonder if you'd even called him by his name once."
-Naruto-
Letting chakra leak through his body, he transformed into his 'Namito' again, the orange of his haori bleeding into a plum-ish shade, unwilling for the same thing to occur at the bridge. If only he'd transformed before he reached Hanako, then maybe he wouldn't have gotten maimed.
He knew it wasn't his fault- he wasn't so young and malleable to think that every little error was entirely his fault (anymore). But the fact that he could've done something differently irked him. He still felt guilty; knowing and feeling were completely different things.
It was undeniable that Hanako wouldn't have refused his help if he hadn't been 'Naruto'. That, no matter who he could blame, was not something that could have changed. But there were so many gaps of information, so many things that 'shouldn't' have happened in the first place that pointing fingers and sorting out 'who's right and who's wrong' would have absolutely no meaning.
Within the Village, he had no room for error; if he held even a tiny bit of responsibility, everything would be pushed onto him. It was why he thought with that mindset in the first place: 'if the demon child had been involved, then the outcome would be the demon child's fault'.
The Matron could twist and manipulate words, pushing what had felt like the entire world's evil onto his shoulders. And that was how he grew up. Hurt, then angry, then doubtful (of himself).
Even with a cleared head and Tsunade's words reminding him, he still can't help but feel the urge to take responsibility. To shoulder the burden. 'Hanako can hate me if it'd help him cope'... is what he'd thought. But that wasn't right, was it? For both of them.
Within the Village, he had no room for error, but Tsunade always pointed out- "What is the point of a 'Village' if no one helps you and instead turns on you?"
With a near silent sigh, he stopped at the edge of the woods, pulling chakra to his eyes to try and clearly see what was going on on the bridge-
His eyes widened.
Two bloodied Jonin, a cage of ice, a progressively injured Sasuke, and no Tsunade.
-A few moments before: Sakura-
She felt a bubble of frustrating in her stomach, hands twitching every time a weapon glinted in the light. But she wasn't frustrated because 'she couldn't fight', she was frustrated because she couldn't help Sasuke.
She'd seen the mirrors of ice form, and she'd heard Sasuke's cries of pain. With a curt apology to Tazuna, Sakura sprinted towards Sasuke, whipping out a kunai and hurling it with pinpoint accuracy at one of the mirrors. She realistically knew it wouldn't do much, but she'd hope that it'd at least distract the shinobi.
How easily the fake Hunter-Nin had caught her attack... It stung at her pride more than she'd admit.
And with a warning look from Kakashi, she returned to the bridge builder's side and was to stay put next to Tazuna and do absolutely nothing. Like some glorified guard dog.
What was the point of missions if she couldn't get experience anyway?
"You are under the assumption that anticipating a good fight equates to becoming a better kunoichi."
Kakashi's disappointed look from after the Demon Brothers' attack, so blatant despite his entire face being technically covered up, was seared into her mind.
"You are under the assumption that anticipating a good fight equates to becoming a better kunoichi." Kakashi offhandedly said, not looking up from his novel. "'Elite' shinobi never want to fight because they know just how horrible being an 'Elite' is. It means that they've gone far past the childish phase of wanting battles, where they've seen much death and blood and only indulge in the impossible dreams of 'complete peace'."
Green eyes widened in disbelief at the indirect accusation. "Do you think I enjoy this?!"
"Why-" A single eye flicked to look at hers, still half-lidded but intimidating all the same. "-Were you smiling?"
"...Wh-What?" Sakura demanded after a small shocked moment, "Why would I smile?"
"At first you were shaken, but despite your obvious anxieties, you were far from petrified like usual Genin would be. After a few seconds, you got frustrated because you couldn't fight even though you wanted to prove that you'd changed from your old self." The Jonin commented, like reporting the weather.
"Then one of those brothers charged towards Tazuna and you got this big, ugly smile on your face."
Kakashi was a cruel teacher.
He was riddled with issues, and never even taught them anything. Team 7 only did D-Rank missions and he never participated anyway. If only she'd gotten Ino's Sensei, this Sarutobi man, who was trying to convince them to train.
Although... she was confused as to why Sasuke or Hanako never asked for training. Hanako was overly ambitious and Sasuke craved power like nobody's business, yet neither of them ever asked.
'And neither did you.' Inner giggled. 'What a hypocrite you are. Listen to yourself. Just listen to yourself.'
And so with Inner's commentary, she watched helplessly as Sasuke continued to dodge the senbon attacks. Kakashi began to explain the Kekkei Genkai- a superior genealogy that's passed down by one's ancestors.
It turns out that the ice was a 'Clan thing '- as the civilians in the Academy would call it. No one ever questioned how Clan children managed to get so high up in the rankings: it was just their lineage. But even after becoming a Genin, to find out that it was merely blood that could explain the wide gap between her and her opponents...
"You're either fit, or unfit."
Was she just destined to remain inferior? Weak? Wasn't that just too unfair? She'd worked so hard too... She'd become top kunoichi...
"No one 'tries' to get killed. Just because you're acting a little different from before, it doesn't change all those years you've wasted."
Does anyone even believe in her? Did they all expect her to fail?
Isn't that just too cruel?
...Should she just...
(Sakura couldn't even track Kakashi and Zabuza's movements. Sasuke moved faster than she could react. That fake Hunter-Nin had accuracy far more superior than what she could ever dream to achieve. Kakashi's voice was cold. Sasuke didn't even view her as a peer. Hanako still thought she was an airhead. Her family... were dismayed when she tore off her fake nails.)
...Quit being a shinobi?
-Naruto-
His head pounded as he thought of many different things all at once- how and why Tsunade was gone (and he knows that Tsunade is strong, but Tsunade is scared of blood ); and he was correct that Haku had a Kekkei Genkai- ice affinity? His eyes zeroed onto Sasuke who was easily overpowered by Haku despite his obvious lack of killing intent.
All in that single moment he felt worry, curiosity, panic, and anger and he barely remembered not to charge straight into the battlefield to somehow protect whatever and fight against whoever the enemy seemed to be.
(Because surely the kind boy in the forest wouldn't be his enemy. Surely not.
A little voice in his mind asked him- 'You aren't still that naïve anymore, are you? From the very first breath you took in this world, we were allies with Konoha and enemies with Konoha's enemies.' )
Naruto hesitated as he thought of joining them. He felt uncertain... Hanako was meant to be there but because of hi- because of the complications, Naruto ended up here instead of the original Team 7 Genin. Hell, he wasn't even a Genin.
Naruto shook his head, brushing away those useless thoughts. They were all shinobi of Konoha, so of course he could... fight alongside them. Remembering his weights, he quickly tugged them off from where they were tucked under his clothing, sealing them into a storage seal stitched into the inner fabric of his haori and immediately feeling the difference.
With a resolute nod, he moved to Shunshin when Haku began to talk.
"For me, becoming a shinobi completely is difficult." Haku's smooth voice echoed inside of his ice mirror dome. "If I can, I don't want to kill you and I don't want to get killed by you."
Naruto paused, hand braced on the tree trunk.
"That's why if your enemy is stronger than you, they won't care if you have a tragic past or a crippling disability-"
"They must be very precious to you then." Haku was sincerely kind. Could he really fight against him?
"-They won't care if you've worked your arse off for this single moment or fight. They won't care about any of that. On the off chance that they do, it's probably because they aren't either a) a real enemy, or b) a strong enemy. But then there's a possibility that the enemy is an unprofessional shinobi who acts upon emotion."
"But if you are going to come at me," Haku continued, voice steely. "I'll kill my feelings with a sword and completely become a shinobi. 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 your dream... Please don't hold it against me."
Naruto clenched his eyes shut at the words; Tsunade was right- it was harder to defeat the 'enemy' the more he sympathised with them.
She'd told him that usually, it was easy for shinobi to wilfully ignore the fact that their enemies were humans and had families when they were simply trading kunai, but when they start talking... She'd told him that during the wars, shinobi generally tried to kill quickly and didn't usually loot the bodies in case they found things like pictures or charms.
"I want to protect the person dear to me... I work for the sake of 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 this dream, I can completely become a 'shinobi'-" The gentle voice increased into a determined snarl, "-And I can kill you!"
That resolve... Naruto felt his respect for Haku rise with every word.
(And why did Zabuza and Kakashi lower their guards just to listen? Naruto could feel his inner-Shizune slapping her forehead. Why in the ever loving Ramen Gods was Sasuke smiling- oh, and Sakura too? They were all in pretty deep shit! ...But he couldn't help but feel a thrill as well because for all the hard work he'd put in... it was today when he would finally get a taste of the real world.)
"Sasuke-kun! Don't lose to that guy!" Sakura screamed, tone reminiscent to a cheerleader.
"No, Sakura." Kakashi interjected. "Don't egg him on."
"Huh?"
"Even if Sasuke could somehow defeat that technique, he cannot beat that boy."
"What do you mean?" The girl wondered, brows furrowed, a trace of indignant hurt in her tone.
"He doesn't yet have the strength to destroy his heart... and kill another person."
Naruto had to actively stop himself from screaming: 'Beating someone does not equate to killing, dattebayo!'
"Intention can change how someone fights in spades." His inner-Tsunade interrupted with a lecturing tone.
As if on cue, there was a sudden burst of energy and without further ado, Naruto flickered to just outside the dome of mirrors, shivering at the sudden drop in temperature. He'd moved so that Sakura and the civilian client couldn't see him but he was pretty sure both Jonin had seen something move. Interestingly enough, Zabuza didn't warn his accomplice.
Naruto quietly summoned a Kage Bunshin to poke at it, running chakra through the mirror and realising with a gasp that it was indeed a Kekkei Genkai and not some super believable illusion or something.
What could he do then?
He'd already started to think about it upon seeing it. Thrown weapons? Haku was too fast for it to be anything but a distraction. Outside attack? He didn't know offensive Ninjutsu against ice and he'd had enough experience with breaking his fist over something that was harder than he thought that he didn't want to try it against a potentially super, duper strong bloodline technique.
His priority would be to get Sasuke out, but how? Naruto flinched violently every time he heard a grunt of pain or the whistle of a needle thrown, and whatever thoughts or plans he half-heartedly thought of disappeared at the gnawing thought that- 'I'm just standing here while my comrades are fighting.'
There was a sudden burst of malicious intent and Naruto snapped his head up just in time to see Sasuke standing still and simply watching the barrage of senbon flying towards him.
Without even thinking, he shoved chakra to his feet, tackling the Uchiha by the waist, and turning them so that the worst of the attack hit his left arm. They were suspended in air for a single moment and in that moment, the reality of Naruto's decision hit him like a wrecking ball. They both thudded onto the concrete, skidding to a slump.
After one stunned second, Naruto gave a low, 'this-is-so-troublesome' groan worthy of the Nara deer gods.
The noise started Sasuke out of his dazed stare-
"You total moron! Airhead! Usuratonkachi."
-He snapped in a quick exhale, methodically separating the two, totally uncaring of Naruto's injuries and thus jarring his arm and causing him to release a whimper.
Haku must have a talent for managing to hit at least half his pressure points when he hadn't even aimed at them. What ungodly luck. Maybe he'd already sensed Naruto outside and purposely released all that scary aura to bait him in? Then was this just all according to his plan?
What a drag.
He was starting to feel more and more like a useless slug. (Pun not entirely intended.)
"Use your head, Dobe." Sasuke hissed, still on some sort of high, lightly shaking him by the shoulders. "Why did you come inside the mirrors-"
Meanwhile, Naruto just inwardly sighed at his own rashness, slumped over like a stringless puppet in a heightened sense of exaggerated depression.
The inner-Shizune and inner-Tsunade voices were moaning about how the nerve clusters had been hit and his Tenketsu had been screwed up and now it'd hurt every time he tried to move or channel chakra there and no, don't even think about taking them out because it'll hurt even more-
"-Argh, damn it. I don't care anymore! What an idiot!"
At the insult, Naruto perked up in a scowl- "Whaaat did you say? I just saved you from becoming a pin cushion, you lil bastard!"
The Uchiha sputtered, "'Little '-"
"-Whatchya doing standing there like an idiot anyway? What, you wanna become a hedgehog, dumb jerk-" Naruto belatedly realised that Sasuke's eyes were red.
As in... Dojutsu red. Kekkei Genkai red. Uchiha red.
"...Oh... magic ey-uhh-I- I mean, Sh-Sharingan..."
It truly held a mesmerising appearance- one tomoe in the left eye, two tomoe on the right. The impossibly black colour of each tomoe was crisp against the almost glowing red of the iris. Like fire, dancing red fire, that radiated power. They spun just the slightest bit, whorling as the crimson hues intensified, the remaining shades of his usual dark eyes disappearing.
Sasuke slowly blinked, trailing his eyes down to Naruto's hedgehog-ed left arm then back to Naruto's face, scrutinising it with an awful lot of curious suspicion.
"Wait... who even..."
Naruto jerked out of the Sharingan-trance he was in and felt a niggling sense of caution.
He didn't know much about the Sharingan- only really read about it because he saw 'Uchiha' there, but apparently it was super strong and could copy stuff and something about chakra... so... what if he could see through his Henge?
That would be so embarrassing! No! No way!
Sasuke already acted like an ungrateful bastard, so no way was Naruto ever going to let him know that it was Naruto who did something stupid like that for the sake of the dumb-dumb, hedgehog-wannabe bastard.
"...Who ar-"
"Wh-What are you looking at, ya perv?" Naruto squawked, harrumphing loudly.
Haku, Kakashi, Tazuna, and Sakura made choking noises (in synch) so loud that they echoed down the bridge. (Damnit, he didn't get Zabuza as well.) At that, Naruto felt a little sliver of cheekiness rising within him despite the circumstance they were in. (Smiling away his problems always worked though, didn't it?)
Exactly as expected, Sasuke gave a growl of irritation. "What did you just-"
Scrap that. Not a sliver. An entire monsoon of cheekiness.
(Inner-Tsunade commented in a deadpan manner that he had always been creative with describing things while inner-Shizune told him that this was so not the time.)
He could (metaphorically) sniff out so many pranking opportunities...
"Kyaaa-" Naruto continued simperingly, donning an over-the-top, high pitched Kumo accent paired with the tone and vocabulary of a toddler merged with the attitude of an early-teen hormonal fangirl, all too much enjoying the act and the response.
He crossed his arms across his chest, dramatically wiggling away from him. "Your scary scary, glowy bling bling, ruby rose red eyes are tuh-rwuly hippo-nitising!"
The look of annoyance slowly transitioned into confusion- "Do you mean 'truly hypnotis-'" That confusion then formed into a look of mild and baffled disgust.
Naruto's mouth twitched as he remembered the positively disgruntled, angry, wet cat look he got when fangirls... did their thing. He daren't swoon, but he did something grossly close.
This wasn't even humiliating because the expressions he made- Naruto restrained a snigger- were so worth it. He was the King of Pranksters (a self-appointed title, but honestly, no one would dare challenge him for the position) and he will never hold back on trolling people when he wants to.
"Stare into my eyes any longer," He gushed breathily, the back of his right hand meeting his forehead. "And I'll be swept further into the hurricane of true lo-"
It was the last nail in the coffin.
"You- You're shameless." Sasuke accused, a mixture of uncomfortable surprise, begrudging amusement, and brow-twitching crankiness on his face. He resolutely turned away, missing how Naruto had to muffle his mouth with his (clean, because he'd scrubbed and used soap many, many times) hands to hide his laughter.
He hadn't successfully managed to troll someone for so long. By now, Tsunade and Shizune knew all his little pranks and tricks like the Sannin's sake stash, so it never worked on them anymore.
Naruto smirked victoriously. This, on the other hand... That was too easy.
If he knew that Sasuke would be so easily flustered, he so would have gone through with the plan of dying his hair orange when he was nine. Or the plan of replacing the tomatoes in his bento with crickets. Or the plan of buying wigs and styling them all into a duck-butt fashion and setting them on every desk. Or- He shook his head, snickering.
"Well then, young Uchiha, though now clearly isn't the time for pleasantries-" Naruto was split between grimacing at the formal speech and laughing his arse off at Sasuke's rictus expression of conflicted confusion. "-You may call me Namito, and beg you not call me by an endearment, as flattered as I am..."
Naruto would swear to his death that he managed to get a snort of laughter from Zabuza at that.
"I..." Naruto pointed dramatically ('and rudely'- his inner-Shizune may add) towards the nearest Haku from them. "I am here to aid you against your enemies."
Haku had paused during the entire exchange, every single illusion-clone of his radiating pure, innocent confusion.
Sasuke, being the totally ungrateful bastard he was, simply levelled a flat look onto him. "What, by coming into here? Wow, how useful."
Naruto sputtered at the sarcasm. "Hey! I didn't know you'd awaken your totally overpowered bum-bum Sharingan. At least say thanks! Hmph."
"E... Enough." Haku intoned, his severe demeanour betrayed by the barest hint of bemusement in his tone. "I will end this in the next move."
"No," Naruto gave a sharp grin, "I will."
He snapped his fingers and the mirrors exploded.
"Ask yourself, Naruto, what are you best at?"
Playing a fool. Trickery. Smiling. Trapping. Stealth. (Causing destruction.)
"That won't work." Sasuke said, eyes narrowed as he swiped away the smoke.
"I know." Naruto murmured back before loudly gasping- "It won't?!"
A low chuckle reverberated inside the mirrors, "Unfortunately for you, that level of firepower won't do much."
"Do your signature Uchiha fireball thing." Naruto elbowed the other, keeping his voice low. "And pump it with as much chakra as you can spare."
"What?" Sasuke hissed under his breath. "Even if... It won't work."
With a one-handed ram seal, Naruto began to channel chakra, slowly drawing his gaze towards the Uchiha, he gave a small smile-
"Trust me."
Sasuke furrowed his brow, looking away and started to wordlessly cast the hand seals. Two Kage Bunshin appeared in a small whirl of wind, each closing their eyes as they drew upon their elemental chakra.
Just as Sasuke brought up his curved index to his mouth, Naruto built up the wind chakra in his lungs, feeling the familiar rush of energy pouring out of his throat-
Katon: Gokakyuu no Jutsu
A split moment after the fire left his lips, three gusts of wind merged into one, colliding into the fireball. The flames flickered for a moment before it swelled into a massive, shapeless torrent of crackling demolition.
In response, Haku's chakra rose like a tsunami rearing its head, frosting the very air they breathed.
"And that-" Naruto exclaimed near hysterically over the raging inferno. "Isn't even the finale-"
Because the smoke from the explosion before? It was highly flammable.
He shoved his only usable hand into the pouch by his right hip, bringing out the most durable barrier tag he had on him and biting clean through his lip with his canine, spitting droplets of blood onto it. He slammed the tag onto the floor and the barrier activated in a grey shimmer right before-
The flames exploded, sending a wave of heat over the bridge. The air was suddenly strangled from his throat, temperature rocketing.
He could distantly hear Tazuna's surprised shout, Sakura's scream of horror, and Kakashi's worried yell.
Naruto felt something cold (fear) run in his veins not a moment later, a stark contrast to the heat in the air. He knew the exact moment when the barrier broke, a little string of chakra within him snapping and in that split second, he made a decision.
He tackled Sasuke to the ground again, hissing when his left arm protested in pain. The Uchiha frowned in confusion, trying to sit up against the iron tight hold.
Naruto squeezed his eyes shut and pushed both of them further into the floor, in that single moment, wishing that he knew Doton Jutsu more proficiently enough so that he could sink them both into the floor and avoid the worst of the burns but right now, he could only act as a human shield.
As soon as Naruto'd tackled Sasuke, his Kage Bunshin- still outside the mirrors- had created more clones before transforming into small critters the colour of the concrete they were standing on. He put explosion tags underneath them as well- the ones with fainter ink so that Haku wouldn't notice.
On top of this, those clones were bombs.
Finding out how to make a clone explode had initially been an accident, but after sorting through hundreds of 'failed seal deaths that created an explosion large enough to take out two dozen Bunshin', he'd realised that dying loudly could be a weapon. Obviously that hadn't been the initial intention- the Uzumaki Fuuinjutsu Arts relied heavily on their own blood and Life Energy which meant that learning it quickly would usually be impossible because of the potential risk of killing yourself.
So Tsunade pulled out the handy copy of the Scroll of Seals and found a perfect Jutsu for detonating: Bunshin Daibakuha.
Naruto also knew that clones, when transformed into objects or creatures with low intelligence, could rarely follow precise orders. They could only react to a certain command and in this case, it was the sound of him snapping his fingers.
The clones detonated and that triggered the explosion tag to go off as well, erupting both smoke and chakra into the air.
Naruto may not have listened to the lectures about bomb reactions and cat-bone mono-di-whatever-oxy, but he knew that the smoke that that particular tag produced had highly flammable gas.
So Sasuke and his joint technique was more than enough of an activation for the second hidden bomb to go off.
-Sasuke-
Searing fire, wild and untamed, poured over the two of them, roaring and consuming. He couldn't even try to inhale as the heat scraped down his throat, burning him inside. He released a strangled choke, unable to-
A hand is slammed over his mouth, blocking his nose, and black spots littered his vision as his heartbeat thumped in his head.
The blistering heat hissed by his skin and he could only imagine what unbearable suffocation 'Namito' was suffering when he was taking the worst of it.
He could only squint, eyes watering, and he wanted to see and know what was happening now. A pressure, like before, built up behind his eyes and he directed chakra towards his eyes, feeling his vision in the left eye sharpening to match his right. A second awakening, he realised dully. And he couldn't even feel celebratory at this because if someone dies-
It all happened in a few seconds; it would've happened too quickly for his brain to process if it wasn't for the Sharingan he now had.
And because of his Dojutsu, Sasuke saw each and every muscle twitch and shift in chakra.
From the very first sight he had with the Sharingan- when 'Namito' first tackled him, a noticeable tinge of chakra to his skin, eyes, hair and clothes- to this very moment where deep purple, dazed and cloudy, glitched for a split second to reveal clear sky blue eyes- it was recorded into his memories, etched, because the Sharingan never forgets.
The childlike awe. The twitch of his lips. The narrowing of his eyes. The grin he wore.
If it wasn't for his Dojutsu, he wouldn't have known that 'Namito' was actually Naruto.
There wasn't that much evidence save their very first exchange where 'Namito' acted more 'Naruto' than 'Namito'. No one reacted the same way to insults- that was one thing Sasuke knew after insulting Naruto and Hanako for so long. The continuous use of 'bastard', the horrible insults he uses when he's triggered, and the 'magic eyes' he was about to say... They were all purely the Dobe.
The angles of his face, the slope of his nose, the shape of his eyes, the lopsided lips, the blue eyes that he recognised with certainty, the victorious smile he donned (exactly like when he succeeded in a prank), and the glint of recognition he had. ...But were those truly enough to judge who 'Namito' was?
Even the minute mannerisms had gradually changed, every small reaction carefully put together as the time passed on.
But he was utterly convinced, because of those impossibly blue eyes, that this was Naruto.
(The confidence he now had, the tone that was less desperate and more assured... If this 'Namito' was more than just a façade, then that meant that Naruto truly became...)
He glanced down at the burning barrier seal. He may not be a Fuuinjutsu master, but that was clearly the 'wind' kanji on there. For all the plan was spectacular, of course he managed to screw up what was arguably the easiest thing. Then he made up for it by...
"Usuratonkachi." Sasuke muffled in a shallow exhale, slowly prying the boy off of him, carefully watching his face for any signs of distress. Even in this state, his Henge was still active which was ridiculous. "You idiot. What... What were you thinking?"
For all the anger (worry) and shock and confusion he was feeling, he could only breathe the words, too shaken to care about more than just the blood (whose blood?), slick on his hands.
"N-Not ya circus..." Naruto slurred, stopping to cough raggedly, a hint of red by the corner of his mouth. "Not... yo monkeyz... Damn me and Wamen, vis hurtz mo' den I fought..."
Stunned by the nonchalance Naruto's half-dead self was projecting, Sasuke could only stare in horror and irritation.
Naruto snickered before visibly holding back a cough. "Yow- Your face... Nghehe- grnk-"
"Enough." He snapped. "Don't talk anymore. I don't even know how you managed to burn your throat when- Oi moron, sit your dumbass back down."
"Dun' wowwy." Naruto's lips curled upwards the barest bit as he struggled to a stand. "Uh have a- um, heawling factor. Pweh." He then proceeded to spit the blood out of his mouth like how one would after brushing their teeth.
"You're insane." Sasuke breathed, not even bothering to mention how he didn't worry about Naruto's annoyingly resilient self, eyeing the blistered red skin that- indeed- started to fade to a pink.
Naruto flexed his hands, bones popping in the motion. The rivulets of blood had halted and the dense chakra around his core was circulating throughout his body.
In some ways, Naruto was already in better condition than Sasuke was. He'd never heard of this 'healing factor' before.
Then Naruto started to mumble, barely a whisper, but the Sharingan could read lips- "I hope Haku's okay, I mean, I did warn him beforehand, so maybe he wasn't too badly hurt- what if he's dead? No, Haku's strong. Right? Right. Even though I created an explosion that usually wiped out an entire army full of Bunshin. Oh Ramen Gods, this burn is gone already- Is the seal weakening? Shi-it. I'll have to get Baachan to look at it even though she doesn't specialise in these things. Now what do I do? But Sasuke awakened two comma thingos in both magic eyes, so he could just fight Haku by himself now. Should I leave or something? Should I- Oh and Hanako, where's Shizu-nee? What about Tsunade-baachan? What do I do now? What if Haku's dead? Wait, is that Jonin dude done? He was all fixed up, so he should've had a big advantage, so what's the hold up? Should I leave now? What do I do, what do I do, whatdoIdowhatdoIdowh-"
Sasuke blinked as it became an incoherent stream of panicked babbling.
"Oi idiot-"
"Can't you call me by my name, shitty bastard?" Naruto crowed, spinning around to face him completely, about half as loud as before, looking about as ferocious as a drowning chicken. He wasn't going to call Naruto by the fake name- it'll imply that Sasuke'd fallen for his disguise and he hadn't.
He opened his mouth to retort when a shift of chakra caught his eyes. Blinking away his weariness, he pumped chakra through his body, slinging an arm around Naruto and pushed chakra off the soles of his feet, shooting upwards and avoiding the shards of ice needles that would have speared them not a moment later.
"Ow." Naruto whined beside him, stumbling slightly when they landed.
Then he sobered, gently shoving himself away from Sasuke and staggering towards the Hunter-Nin who was facing the opposite direction to where they were. "...Haku. Sorry."
They knew each other?
"Namito-kun." Haku chuckled lightly, voice less distorted now that his mask was broken. He slowly pulled himself up into a stand, still facing the other way. "I didn't think you were a ninja."
"I- uh, I'm not." Naruto replied, shifting nervously. "Technically I'm not."
"You don't need to feel bad. I was lying as well. Such is the way of a shinobi, I suppose." Sasuke could hear the grim smile in Haku's voice before it cracked. "But... you've stolen my reason to live. You're horrible."
"Your... reason to live?" Naruto's face scrunched up in confusion as he began to walk around to face Haku.
"Do you know the pain of living without a dream? Knowing you're not needed by anyone?"
"What are you trying to say?"
"Zabuza-san does not need a weak tool." Haku said quietly. "You stole my reason to exist. You know, before Zabuza-san, I had lived what I now know was the most painful part of life."
"The most painful?" Naruto echoed hollowly.
"The feeling and understanding that you are not needed nor wanted by anyone in this world."
Words, though hushed and murmured, struck him hard. Naruto's eyes widened, a fleeting look of understanding and sympathy crossing his face before it was carefully neutralised.
Sasuke... He still remembered the times where he still had a family.
He had been the second son which meant he wasn't heir. He had always drowned in the shadows of his perfect older brother.
Even when his mother and father was alive, 'Uchiha Sasuke' had been useless to them. He couldn't make them proud, he didn't reach their expectations, he fell short of their unbearably high standards.
And then on that night, when he was seven years old, Itachi, the only person who'd ever smiled at him like he needed him murdered. Slaughtered. Stared at him with cold, cold, red eyes, so different from the loving ones just a few days prior. He barely struck him and simply stared, judgemental, assessing, before Itachi dismissed him.
And even on that night, where Itachi killed left and right, blood dripping from his blade, he simply told Sasuke that he wasn't enough. Wasn't good enough.
Uchiha Sasuke failed at everything- even at dying.
He had nothing. And no one needed him. Before everyone died, he'd been a failure. After everyone died, there were no geniuses for him to be compared to. He had no way to prove that he had a worth- that he was strong- that he was more than just Itachi's little brother, the one that wasn't a genius, and the one informally dubbed the 'second, forgettable son'.
'Uchiha Sasuke' was not needed in this world. What was needed was his pair of Sharingan eyes and the title of 'Last Uchiha'. 'Uchiha Sasuke' was nothing more than that.
"When someone who accepts you from the bottom of their heart appears, they become your most precious person."
Not even the murderer of a brother that had been still is everything to him wanted him.
"In this world where some hated me and no one wanted me- needed me, Zabuza-san chose to raise me while knowing that." Haku brought a hand to his chest, head bowing slightly. "...I was so happy."
They stood in silence as Haku's presence radiated a profound grief, like he was already mourning over his own death.
"I'm sorry, Zabuza-san, I couldn't be the tool that you wished for me to be." He whispered. After a moment's pause, he took a step closer to Naruto, who in turn took one back, wide-eyed and scared- but scared of what? Of who?
"Namito-kun. Please..."
Sasuke's eyes widened.
"Kill me."
-Naruto-
"No!" He yelled, never being so confident in his reply before. "What you just said was ridiculous. Being a weapon... a tool for him? Ar-"
He cut himself off, wondering just what would be the right question to ask.
"You see, Naruto, there's this thing that some people have too much of, and some people have not enough of. These days... I think they call it 'self-love'."
Naruto was scared of Haku. How confident he was in the fact that he was a tool- someone who existed purely to be a weapon for another.
That could have been him.
What if Konoha had raised him differently? Drilled the idea that he was a weapon for the Village's sake since birth? Jinchuuriki are human weapons. The title literally means 'the power of human sacrifice'.
He always thought lowly of himself, but Haku knew- wholeheartedly believed that he was merely a tool. While Naruto had no 'self-love', Haku didn't even ponder the existence of it.
So was neglect really the worst thing that could've happened? Could Naruto have gotten it so much worse than he did? Tsunade taught him how to live- for himself above all.
And Haku stands there, so kind and gentle, with the light snuffed from his eyes, emotions cleared from his face. There's a mild impatience, but who- what kind of human- would be impatient for their death? A tool. Haku had stated. A weapon.
But Naruto, someone who knew nothing, couldn't tell him what was right and wrong. His own thoughts and morals were skewed already. He may be terrified of the idea of being a mere tool for someone, but Haku...
"Are you really okay with that?" Naruto asked quietly.
"Is that wrong?" Haku replied calmly. "Zabuza-san counts on me, even though I'm worthless. He made me feel needed. ...But now I've lost the usefulness that affirmed my existence."
Naruto gnawed on his lip when tears began to drip down Haku's blank face.
"Zabuza-san no longer needs me. That's why I'm now appealing to you." He was completely serious, Naruto realised. "Please, make it quick."
Naruto slowly shook his head, casting a glance over Haku's shoulder to Sasuke, who had been observing quietly and solemnly.
Haku took another step forward. He took two back.
"I apologise for dirtying your hands with my blood." His voice was steely. "But you, who stole my reason to exist, must rid this world of my existence. This is your responsibility."
"I..." Naruto's eyes flicked down to the bridge.
He felt frustrated and desperate, like he was clawing onto the walls of a dark pit.
"Why... Why is it always about power and strength?" It was stupid. This belief- this system- this shinobi world.
Naruto could see Sasuke's eyes widening.
"What- Who decided that power is what defines someone? People are worth more than how many they can defeat." It has to be true.
But... he was on a training mission now, wasn't he? To get stronger. Is that all he's worth? When he was younger, he'd thought that being the strongest would mean that he would be the most respected. But Tsunade and Shizune taught him that that was wrong!
And they never lied...
"This world... There must be more to it then just battle and death." Naruto gritted his teeth. "What's the point of living if the only thing that validates it is how many other lives you destroy? You don't like it, I know you don't. Then why? You just failed at this one thing you didn't want to do and you.. you believe..."
"...Perhaps you are correct." Haku sighed. "But for Zabuza-san and I... It's different. I've outlived my worth. If I return to Zabuza-san now, I'd be handing him filth. Trash. Morality doesn't matter to Zabuza-san, and therefore, it contributes nothing to my worth because my entire existence belongs to him. What Zabuza-san needs is a strong weapon, and I failed at that. There is nothing more to it."
"You aren't a mistake, Haku."
His lips quirked upwards. "A mistake is a fault or an inaccuracy. I was meant to be a strong tool, and I both failed to become cold-hearted and got defeated. You may not think of me as a mistake, Namito-kun, which I thank you for, but Zabuza-san does. Listen, there is no 'mercy' in letting me live, Namito-kun. Do you understand?"
In reply, he pulled out a dagger, stepping one pace closer and slowly raising his arm until the blade touched his neck.
Haku was smiling.
He wanted to cry.
Sasuke was stiff, face conflicted, but before Naruto could think about why he looked so pained, Haku snatched at his wrist, gripping it tightly.
"Haku?"
"Forgive me, Namito-kun." He blurred through one-handed seals. "I cannot die yet!"
There was a burst of cool wind as Haku disappeared in a Shunshin. Naruto's jaw unhinged in surprise when Sasuke chased right after him. But he had little time to react as he felt a familiar chakra signature brush at the edges of his senses.
"Baachan." He snapped his head around just as Tsunade; she had the same hair, but more modern clothing and eyes the same colour as Namito's. Her Byakugo was absent and she was a few centimetres taller than before.
"Wh-"
There was a loud sizzling noise, electricity hissing in the air. A loud shockwave blew his hair, whipping the remains of his burnt clothing. His eyes flicked to the source of the energy outburst before they widened.
The scent of copper saturated the air, thick and pungent in contrast to the light ocean breeze. The red was stark against the grey stone bridge. Haku and Sasuke skidded across the stone, leaving a long messy trail of bright red.
Naruto could only stare in complete surprise as, mere moments later, Sasuke began to laugh hysterically- deliriously, in the seiza position he was in, head bowed over Haku's body.
There was blood everywhere.
Naruto immediately gripped Tsunade's hand, not for his sake, but for hers because he was a fool if he believed the reassuring smile she produced after talking of Dan and Nawaki's deaths. He was a fool if he didn't notice the little flakes of dried blood in the corners of the bathroom. He was a fool if he didn't notice the fluctuating chakra of hers in the dead of the night.
Tsunade's hand squeezed his back.
No matter how long it would take, how many restless nights he had to endure, hearing Tsunade's panicked breathing as she faced her own fears, alone in the dark, he would wait. And while he waited, he would protect her (like how she protected him).
"Sorry." Tsunade sighed, closing her eyes for a second before opening them again, looking anywhere but the bloodied scene. She looked... rattled. And it was from more than the blood in front of her.
"Don't worry bout it." He slowly began to walk a wide berth around Zabuza, not pausing as he walked past Sasuke, until he reached Sakura and Tazuna. He offered a small smile, easing the stiff expression of terror on Sakura's face.
"Let's see how things are going..."
Naruto frowned, turning to squint into the clearing fog.
"Ooh, you really got it this time." A short, ugly looking man with a cast on his left arm appeared, tapping his cane. "You disappoint me, Zabuza."