Chapter 104 - A tool

"Oh, this girl… Do you see that little Hyūga, Kamizuru-san? Now I remember where I saw her."

"Yes, I do see her, what's wrong?"

"I was tasked with abducting a Hyūga's little princess several years ago, she is that girl. The freaking Kaname Uchiha found me sneaking out with this girl in a bag while jogging… Raikage-sama called it a political shitstorm of a century. Because of my fail, for the first time in almost three decades, Kumogakure was seen as aggressors. We lost a lot of goodwill from other villages that day."

"Wait a moment!?" the elderly shinobi exclaimed, "You got done in by That Kaname Uchiha?"

"Yeah, why?"

"During the last war, I led a sizeable army towards a bridge pass. By then, Kaname Uchiha was still an eleven years old young chick, but with her knowledge of seals, she, almost singlehandedly, postponed the march of my troops. Me, a known Sharingan hunter, was humiliated and later sparred by a small girl. I should have squashed her when I had the opportunity. Ōnoki never again trusted me with anything of significance. I was delegated to the role of an advisor. Now at most, I receive only low-importance missions in backwater countries like this…"

"It sucks, but truth to be told, you should retire already old-man."

"No! I won't do it before Ōnoki does, we had a bet on who will quit first, and I will not let the fence-sitter win."

"By the way, have you heard that Kaname is pregnant? Damn, if she was here... I wouldn't mind erasing my failure and bringing back her head to Raikage-san."

"Me neither, she is one of Ōnoki's biggest headaches. Wait, isn't that an Uchiha out there?"

"With his smirk and dark boy-scout clothes, I'm pretty sure that he is indeed one. I do not care about the bridge builder that much. What do you say, old man? Feeling like stretching your old bones and regaining your nickname? We can finish our mission after a little fun."

"Hoho, you read my mind, boy."

------

"Be careful, Zabuza will attack soon," Kakashi advised, holding up a kunai in front of his face. Team six, with their jōnin at the front, gathered around the scared bridge builder. The construction was enveloped in a mist so thick that the ninjas were unable to even perceive their feet.

"He is here." The silver-haired shinobi announced just a moment before a massive amount of bloodlust washed over their location.

In a blink of an eye, four copies of the barbaric-looking swordsman landed in front of each Konoha's ninja. Team sixth replied - efficiently dispelling the water clones. When the quartet was busy with his clones, Zabuza fell from the sky, splitting Tazuna's body with his cleaver. Halfway through the old man's frame, the blade blew a henged shadow clone apart.

"Tsk…" bouncing away using his sword, Zabuza dodged the kunai, just a moment before Kakashi skewered him.

"Nice to meet you again, Zabuza." Team sixth captain greeted, pulling out a second kunai.

"Crafty like always, Kakashi," Zabuza growled, landing next to masked Haku.

"Nope, you just got pranked by one of my students," Kakashi shrugged his shoulders.

"... Stop grinning at me blondie, I will murder you later."

"Zabuza, won't you join us? We have cookies... and Kana-chan." the jōnin joked.

The swordsman's eye unconsciously ventured towards the top of Haku's head, "Your compassion is heartbreaking, Kakashi. Luckily, the only thing we have to do is erase you and your little kids' existence. No hard feelings."

"*Sigh*. Don't think I will let either of you do that."

"Haku, kill the-" before Zabuza declared his order, two new ninjas have shown up on the field.

The ground beneath Sasuke's feet trembled, only thanks to his Sharingan he was able to flee before it parted beneath his feet. While in the air, he noticed a swarm of bees heading towards him, "Shi-!"

At the same time, Hinata's Byakugan spotted a very swift man charging at her back, bȧrėly before she turned around to meet the enemy, he was already swinging at her side. Hinata blocked the punch, but the impetus send her over the bridge's railing.

"NO!" Naruto shouted out, quickly examining the situation, he created twenty shadow clones to send as the backup to his friends. Each copy dispelled instantly as a senbon needle penetrated their temple.

Seeing Konoha's jōnin distracted by an unexpected attack, Zabuza started the battle. "Change of plans, take care of the blonde. I will deal with Kakashi," he ordered, clashing his weapon against his opponent's.

"As you wish, Zabuza-sama."

------

"W-who are you?!" Tsunami shouted, hiding her son behind the dress.

"The messengers from Gatō-sama." Zōri, one of the businessman's bodyguards, perversely smiled at the woman.

"Inari, go to your room." she pushed the boy towards the stairs.

"Hehe, let him watch, maybe he will learn a thing or two." Waraji laughed, backhanding the woman.

"LEAVE MY MOM ALONE!" Inari shouted, biting the man's palm.

"Argh! That's why I hate kids!" Waraji threw the boy away, "Hey, Zōri, we do not need the kid, do we?"

"Run, Inari!" Tsunami shouted, "You want me! If you touch that child, I will bite my tongue and kill myself!"

"Heh, you should thank your mother, kid. She saved your life. Give it a rest Waraji, let's just take her." Zōri smirked, turning his back on the crying boy.

'I'm so sorry, mommy. I'm weak and I can't protect you...' he sniffed, hiding upstairs, 'If I was only as strong as Naruto. *Hick*... The weak will always...'

The plates from the ground level shattered loudly, "NO! Stop!" Tsunami screamed.

Before he was even able to notice, his body acted on its own. Inari run down the stairs, skipping every second step. "LEAVE MY MOMMY ALONE!" the boy yelled at the shirtless men.

"He is pissing me off. I will just kill the brat, Zōri." he gasped at getting blue balled by a boy. Waraji pulled out a katana and threw it at the boy.

"NO! INARI!"

"Eh?" Just a moment before the sword impaled Inari, Naruto landed in front of his face and winked playfully back at the boy.

With a soft *tap* the sword punctured through the blonde's ċhėst, "*Cough*. Good job, Inari." Naruto coughed out blood, giving the boy a thumbs up.

"Na-Naruto-niichan?"

"It's niichan now, eh?" the clone puffed out of existence.

The would-be rapists looked around worriedly, not seeing another ninja closeby, they nodded to each other and walked towards Inari.

"Niichan number two to the rescue ~ttebayo!" Naruto, getting into the living room by the opened window, kicked the back of the Gatō's bodyguards' heads and popped in a cloud of smoke.

Before the samurais collected themselves from the unexpected attack, two new clones shown themselves beneath their feet and launched them into the air. Soaring through Tsunami's living room, two new duplicates punched the men through the wooden wall outside the building.

"...Cool..." Inari murmured.

While one clone wrapped a shirtless Tsunami in a blanket, the second one walked towards the boy, "Hehe, thanks. I'm sorry for my words yesterday, Inari, you're strong - not many would stand against impossible odds."

"Ugh, b-baka! I would never call you a niichan!" Tears of happiness flew down the boy's cheeks, "Damn it! I decided I wasn't going to cry anymore, you're going to make fun of me again!"

"Hehehe. What are you talking about?" Naruto patted his head, "There is nothing wrong with crying when you're happy ~ttebayo!" he grinned. The blonde's smile, as contagious as the flu, sneaked onto Inari's face. "They will come back, but this time with friends. Go from one home to another, alarm everyone ~ttebayo.

There are only two of us left, and our chakra won't allow us to stay for long ~dattebayo, but your niichan will hold the ground for as long as possible. Can I count on you here?"

"... Yup." Inari nodded.

"Man, it is sure tough to be a hero." Naruto laughed, extending his fist.

"It sure is!" Inari replied, fist-bumping and sending Naruto on his way.

------

"Shit... What is going on?" Sasuke's left arm hang loosely at his side, he sacrificed it by defending from a swarm of bees. Hinata was nowhere to be seen, Naruto was trapped in a dome made of ice, and their sensei was under a barrage of powerful blows and couldn't help either of them.

Hearing another buzzing noise coming towards him, Sasuke jumped away, his hand flew through a multitude of hand-seals. "<Katon: Enyari>! [Fire Release: Fire Spear]" Turning around, the flames spread horizontally in front of his body and aimed at the incoming swarm. When each bee burned to death, they exploded into sticky honey, which in flames, quickly turned into a burning, black substance, that carried with momentum pelted the Uchiha's body.

"Ahh!" protecting his head, the burnt honey got stuck to his body, giving Sasuke painful burns. Fighting over the blinding agony, he tried to scrape off the source of his pain with a kunai, but he did not expect a brutal kick to his back that sent him tumbling on the ground.

"Hmph, younglings... How is it that such a prestigious clan did not teach you to never take your eyes away from the enemy? The Uchihas fell so low?" The bee-user standing above him appeared to be a helpless old man. He had a bald head, a thick, pointy beard, and stretched earlobes with a piercing in both ears. The unassuming grandpa was wearing a traditional dark-orange kimono and a pair of geta [tl. Traditional Japanese footwear - same Jiraya has.]

'Ugh, so the two jōnins Zabuza talked about came with him, fuċk!' As the dust curbed the flames, Sasuke slowly stood up, looking indignant at the old man. "You still did not see what I'm made of, old prick."

"Hoo~ that's the Uchiha's bravado! At least they taught you that perfectly, youngling." the man bowed in a greeting, "It's you who should name yourself first, being much younger and all that, but I see you won't do that. You may know me as Ishibachi Kamizuru, the First Tsuchikage Ishikawa was my grandfather's brother, I was known as an Uchiha's Hunter. I became a ninja when your father wasn't even an itch in your grandfather's ballsack. Show some respect, eh?"

"Never heard of you." the boy activated his Sharingan.

"Pity. So young, so talented, but will never grow up to taste life."

Knowing that he didn't stand a chance against a jōnin, Sasuke did what he was taught to do - he bolted towards the closest cover.

------

"*Gasp*!" Hinata took a deep breath once she swam towards the surface of the cold water, 'Someone hit me, but I couldn't see who, the man was way too fast for me. Are Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun alright?' She looked worriedly up the bridge.

"You should be more worried about your own situation princess." The man flickered towards her, her opponent was a tall, slim man with dark eyes with lines underneath them, black hair, and a goatee. He wore the older-styled Kumo flak jacket with thick shoulder pads. His head was bandaged, and a Kumogakure forehead protector covered his right eye.

"Umm~. D-do we know each other?" Hinata stuttered.

"Huhu, you could say we have a unique type of acquaintance, princess." he laughed out, "Though civil I see you never let your guard down, you are not bad for a genin."

"Th-Thank you. But please, I-I'm not a princess. You seem to know me, but I don't know you. Ma-may I know who are you before it comes to blows?"

"An ever proper Hyūga, huhuhu. I was there for your birthday. Or more specifically, I was the one that attempted to abduct you, girl." He smirked, seeing Hinata's brows rise in acknowledgment and fear, "This time you are out of luck, you are here alone, your protector nowhere in sight."

"Umm~. I-I'm sorry, do you believe that Kaname Uchiha would send us alone?"

The man scaredly got the hang of his surroundings, "... Nice try, girl. Your mom didn't teach you that lying is bad?"

'Mom told me that Nee-sama played a nasty prank on my abductor. Did he develop PTSD?' Hinata watched the man's eyelids beat uncontrollably. Not able to hide anywhere close, she rigged up a new plan. "It's n-not a lie. Nee-sama is here, watching us."

Seeing the jōnin's body shudder in fright, Hinata shot into action. Quickly charging at the man, using her full strength, she punched his neck, aiming for a quick kill, "AAAHH!" a bolt of electricity traveled through her arm and spread over her body.

"Huhuhu, it's not so easy to hurt me, girl." The man looked down at the twitching in pain black-haired girl. "You need much bigger chakra reserves to even touch me. It seems you were lying, Kaname would not let you get hurt. I believe that private tutoring is in order." he kicked Hinata, making the young girl's body skip on the water surface.

---------

"What are those mirrors, Zabuza?"

"Heh, the blonde is finished, once she uses her <Makyō Hyōshō> [Demonic Mirrors of Ice Reflection] Haku is faster than me, Kakashi." Zabuza's strike broke through Kakashi's guard, with a quick-hand movement, he slashed at the silver-haired shinobi. "*Tsk* A kawarimi?" the swordsman's cleaver cut through a wooden log.

"It seems I will have to finish that- SHI-!" Kakashi dodged at the last moment before Zabuza's sword decapitated his head.

Impaling the legendary cleaver into the ground, Zabuza used it as an additional grip to send a powerful kick to Kakashi's side. "You have to die, Kakashi. Your Sharingan tricks won't work twice on me."

Shaking off the damage, Kakashi jumped away from the Demon of the Hidden Mist. "You should feel honored that you're one of the few people to see it twice, Zabuza. There won't be the third time."

"Hehehe, even if you defeat me, you can't win against Haku's speed. Ever she was a little kid, I taught her all my skills and techniques. Even facing impossible odds, she always succeeded no matter my request. I had gained a high-quality tool for myself, unlike the scrap that follows you."

"A tool? That's why you're taking worried glances every minute back at her?"

"*Growl* Zip it, Kakashi."

"Nothing as boring as a man's bragging. Let's finish this!"

-------

"Nice to meet ya again, pretty lady!" Naruto grinned, scratching the back of his head.

"Huh, how?"

"How did I know? Easy-peasy, I may not have an Inuzuka's nose, but foxes are not bad at smelling the scents either ~ttebayo."

"Foxes?"

"Meh~. It's unimportant, Haku-chan. Can you release me from this ice cage? I need to help my friends ~dattebayo."

"*Sigh* I'm sorry, Naruto-kun. I can't do it, Zabuza-sama ordered me to end you. As his personal tool, I must accomplish his request."

"Please, I don't want to fight you. My friends need help, I beg you, don't do that."

"Goodbye, Naruto-kun." the girl melded into a crystal-clear mirror, letting several others in the dome reflect her body.

"Damnit! I'll be right back, Haku-chan." Naruto's body flickered into a high-speed movement towards the ice dome's border. Rapidly shortening the distance to freedom, Naruto felt a sharp sting in his right foot. Not able to stop his flicker, the blonde tripped over his feet and faceplanted the ground. Collecting himself back, he noticed a steady stream of blood coming from his nailed to the ground foot. "Shit!" he yanked the senbon needle, tearing it off from his limb.

"You can't run, Naruto-kun." Haku's voice came from behind him. Naruto's head quickly turned around over his left arm, but before he was able to see what's behind him, he felt Haku taking hold of his head and sending him flying towards the middle of the dome.

"Ugh... Heh-hehehe."

"What's so funny, Naruto-kun?"

"... Why didn't you kill me, Haku-chan ~ttebayo? You could easily do that with my back turned to you."

"It... I..."

"Yeah, it truly is as you said before, we're very familiar with each other."

"*Sigh*... Let me fix my mistake." Each reflection threw a handful of senbon needles at the blonde boy, creating an inescapable trap. The ground in the middle exploded under the rain of spikes. Expecting a bloodied body lying there in the middle, Haku was amazed when she noticed a round ball spiked to the bream with her needles.

"HAAH!" Naruto shouted out, the hedgehog-like globe exploded, sending hundreds of senbons flying back towards the mirrors.

"Yes, you are amazing Naruto-kun. Is that the famous Uzumaki's bloodline technique?" Haku's reflection pointed at the nine glowing yellow chains protecting Naruto.

"Please, I don't want to kill someone so nice as you, Haku-chan."

"Naruto-kun, we're ninjas it's our way of the world think of me of what I truly am. A tool."

"Fuck this world! If we're so similar, then you're a human too, Haku-chan! Just listen to yourself! Are you not a human being with feelings, hopes, and dreams ~ttebayo?!" Naruto shouted out, concentrating on his chains to block all the projectiles.

"You don't know the real me, Naruto-kun. I fight for the dreams of my precious person. I want to see Zabuza-sama's goals and ambitions carried out. I want to be completely useful to him and his plans. I will admit that it's difficult for me to be a shinobi, but for Zabuza-sama, I'll sacrifice everything and become a full-fledged shinobi. To do so, I'll destroy my heart and kill you!"

"Don't be stupid! We're friends already, Haku-chan!" From time to time a senbon flew past his defense pulling blood from his body, luckily Kyūbi's chakra was instantly taking care of his wounds.

"We're evenly matched, Naruto-kun. Knowing Uzumakis' amazing chakra reserves, you could wait it out and win, but do you have the time to dilly-dally here?"

Naruto's eyes turned toward the bridge, the ŀȧpse in his concentration cost him several more wounds. But what he saw filled his heart with dread. Two men stood on the bridge. Below the first's feet lied the unconscious body of Sasuke full of blisters and burns. The second man held a bloodied body of Hinata by her short dark-lavender hair.

'Ugh... I- I can't save them both...'