Naruto splashed his right foot into a puddle, not watching the ground as he continued to run. The warm summer air brushed past his face as he ran like a mad man. "Ah, I really hope I'm not too late!" He said through shallow breaths, sweat dripping down his forehead.

We were at a stand off. The mist circled around us, I clenched my fists angrily. Kakashi and Zabuza had their eyes locked on each other, the fake tracker, or Haku as Zabuza called him, had his face turned towards me. Sasuke had stepped back towards me, his shoulder brushed against mine as he glared over at Haku. "Well, well. So (Y/N) had it right, it was all an act." Kakashi said in a slight whisper, his hands in his pockets. "An act?" Sakura questioned, looking over at Kakashi with a confused face. "The mask." Kakashi answered back, "Huh?" Sakura looked over at him with awe, "So I guess all that about being a tracker ninja protecting his village was a bunch of bull." Tazuna grunted, staring them down. "They look pretty chummy to me." Kakashi added, I nodded. "Yeah, they're like best friends." I explained, recalling the dream. "He's got some nerve facing us again after pulling that trick." Sakura said angrily, her pink hair swaying in the breeze. "And hiding behind a mask. Who does he think he's fooling?" Kakashi looked at him oddly, "Ha, speak for your self sensei." I grinned, looking over at him, he sighed. "I'm taking him does he think he's fooling, hiding behind that mask like some kind of clown." Sasuke clenched his fists. "Sasuke, you're so cool~!" Sakura squealed, her cheeks turning pink, I rolled my eyes. Wait a second, didn't I just say that? She'll never change... Kakashi shook his head.

"He's impressive." Haku whispered to Zabuza, "Hmph. Even though they were just one-tenth the strength of the original water clone jutsu, he destroyed them all. That move still gave us the first advantage, now use it." Zabuza huffed, looking down at Haku. "Right." He agreed with a nod. "And remember what we came to collect." Zabuza shifted his eyes towards me, I gritted my teeth. Haku jumped up on his right foot, kicking him self around as he span towards us, Sasuke jumped out in front of us. "What's he...doing?" I whispered to myself, tilting my head as I watched him spin faster and faster. Sasuke held the kunai up defensively, a smile came to his face.

They easily cut the wooden door down, she turned around lightning fast, her eyes widening as they stepped into her home. "So, you're Tazuna's daughter, huh? Too bad. You'll have to come with us, now. She screamed, dropping a plate on the floor as she jumped away from them. Inari came running down the hall, "Mother!" He shouted as he turned the corner, "No! Don't come out here!" She shrieked, Inari's eyes widened as he saw the men in the dinning room. "Run away! Hurry!" She trembled, sweat beading down her face. "Should we grab this one too?" He asked his friend, he turned his head around to him. "No. Gato asked for just one hostage" He turned his back to Inari, Inari was shaking with fear. Hostage?! He thought. "Alright then." He grinned evilly, drawing his sword. Tears streamed down his face. "Wait!" She called out, shaking on the floor, he turned his head over to him. "Please don't hurt my son, I'm begging you." Tsunami sniffled, her knees got cut by the shards of the broken plate. "He's just a boy, please, I'll do anything, just please don't hurt him." She pleaded, he grinned down at her before turning to Inari. "Looks like your mom came through for you, kid. Lucky." Inari as shaking as he held onto the corner of the wall, he put his sword down. Inari slid down to the floor. "What a waste." He grunted, looking over at his partner. "Give it a rest, you already drew blood today. Let's get her out of here." He said, dragging her by her arm up to her feet. They tightly tied her hands together with a piece of rope as they led her out the door. "I'm sorry, mom..." Inari said between tears, they were already out side. "I'm sorry. What could I do, I'm too weak to protect you... I'm scared. I don't wanna die!" Coward! Listen to yourself, whining and complaining like some sorry little victim. You can whimper all day for all I care! You're just a coward! Inari looked down at the ground, thinking back on that night. My guess is he just got tired of crying and decided to do something about it. He knows what it means to be strong, like your father did. He remembered our talk, he looked down at his hands. If you really care about something, protect it, even if you have to put your life on the line! Protect it with both arms! Kaiza's words filled Inari's head, he wiped his tears away with his arm. Inari... He saw his mothers face, he put his hands on his eyes. Can I, can I be that strong, too? Inari stood up its his fists clenched, running towards the front door.

"We're going to treat you just fine, so don't worry your pretty little head." He grinned, touching his chin as he looked down at her. "Come on, keep walking." His partner grunted, pulling her along. "Stop!" Inari shouted at them, standing on the other side of the board walk. "Well, well, if it ain't the little tough guy." He chuckled, looking down at Inari. "Inari!" She called out, tears streaming down her face. "How cute, you've come to save your mommy." He rested his hand on his sword, looking down at his with bore eyes. "You'd better get away from my mom!" He shouted, dashing towards them. "Inari! No!" She screamed out, shaking her head. "This kids a little short on brains, don't you think?" He chuckled, "Get rid of him." His partner crossed his arms. "No! If you hurt him, I swear I'll-" "Shut up." He grunted, hitting her in the back of the head. She fell down onto the ground, she out. "AHHH!" Inari screamed, running towards him. He sliced his sword down.

Haku had stopped Sasuke's kunai with a needle, they were at each other's necks, I watched them intently. So, he can keep up with Haku's speed, huh. Zabuza watched as Sasuke and Haku thought. Hm? Kakashi watched. "Sakura, (Y/N), cover Tazuna and stay close to me. Let Sasuke handle this." Kakashi waved a hand at us, we both jumped back into manji formation. "We want (Y/N) and the bridge builder, not you. If you back own, I won't have to kill you." Haku told Sasuke, their blades met again. "Save it." Sasuke grunted back, a angry look in his eye. "You're making a mistake. You won't be able to match my speed, I've gained two key advantages." Haku shook his head, "Yeah? What are they?" Sasuke tightened his grip around the kunai. "First, we're surrounded by water." I looked down at the puddles Zabuza's water clones left behind. "Second, I've blocked one of your hands, therefore you only have one hand to defend yourself." Haku raised his open hand in front of his face, I watched in awe. Hand signs with a single hand?! I've never seen that before! I gulped, watching with widened eyes. "Secret jutsu, a thousand needles of death." Haku called out, I gritted my teeth as I watched the water of the ground rise up like walls around them. He doesn't want to kill the kid? Does he mean that? Hmm. Zabuza kept his eyes on Kakashi. "Sasuke?" I called out, but I didn't get a reply. I watched in horror as the water around them turned into ice, formed into needles! Remember your training. Summon my chakra at once. Sasuke focused his chakra.

"A substitution jutsu?" He called out, looking down at the log he cut in half. "The woman, she's gone." He grunted, looking around the board walk. "Sorry I'm a little late." Naruto called out, resting Inari and his mother dorm on the board walk safely. "Huh? Who's that?" He grunted, turning around to look at Naruto. "You know, heroes usually show up at the last minute." Naruto grinned. "Naruto, it's you!" Inari said in shock, climbing out of his arms. "Who else?" Naruto smiled down at him. "Inari, you did great." Naruto nodded. "Huh?" Inari scampered up on his feet. "When you charged, they forgot about your mom for a minute, that gave me the chance to use a cool jutsu to get her away from them." Inari looked down at her with sad eyes, she was out cold. "Naruto, how did you know these guys were coming here?" Inari asked, looking up at him. "In the forest, I found a boar who had been attacked, and the trees were all cut up too, like someone had been practicing with a sword or something. The cuts led back toward the house, so I followed them here." Naruto explained with a a grin. "That was really smart." Inari agreed. "Blah, blah. It's one of those puny ninja brats Tazuna hired." He shook his head, looking down at Naruto angrily. "Get him already." His parter complained, "Right." He nodded, running towards them. "They're coming!" Inari jumped. Naruto flung two shuriken at them, they bounced off their swords. "Try something else, brat." He grunted, "I already did." Naruto smiled as he watched two of his shadow clones jump out behind them, punching them into the ground. "Ah, you did it!" Inari said in awe, looking up at him. "Yeah, believe it!" Naruto laughed. "Ha, that was so cool, like a real ninja!" Inari smiled, looking up at him. "You twerp, I am a real ninja!" Naruto smiled back at him, "That's what I've been telling you!" They both were laughing.

Summon my chakra at once. And direct it to my feet! The needles crashed down, Haku jumped out of the way just in time, my eyes widened as I saw Sasuke jump up into the sky in a small flash, Haku jumped back, sliding on the water as he dodged the shuriken's Sasuke flung at him. "You're not as fast as you think." Sasuke called out from behind Haku, I watched in awe, a large smile on my face. "From this point on, you'll be the one defending against my attacks." Sasuke warned, slicing his kunai down at his direction again, it met Haku's needle. "Hm?" Haku watched as Sasuke threw another kunai knife with his other hand, he crouched down to avoid it, but was met but a strong kick to the face. He slid across the floor, soaking his back in cold water. It's not possible, no one's faster than Haku. Zabuza gritted his teeth from behind his mask, looking over at Sasuke. "Thought you were quicker, huh? Now, what else are you wrong about?" Sasuke asked with a grin. "You made a big mistake insulting these ninja and calling them brats. That's just guaranteed to bring out Sasuke's attitude. (Y/N) here's the best young fighter of the Hidden Leaf Village," I rubbed the back of my neck, a small blush on my face. "and Sakura's our sharpest mind. And last, but not least, our number one hyperactive knucklehead ninja, Naruto Uzumaki."

"A-Achoo!" Naruto sneezed, rubbing snot on the sleeve on his orange jumper. "They say when you sneeze, it's cause somebody's talking about you somewhere." Inari explained, looking up at Naruto. "You don't believe that, do you?" Naruto looked over at him, Inari shrugged. "Hey, by the way, sorry about yesterday." Naruto rubbed the back of his neck, "Huh?" Inari looked up at him. "Calling you a coward was pretty mean, I guess. Anyway, it's not true, you know?" Naruto patted him on the top of the head, "Cause you are really brave." Naruto smiled, tears started to well up in Inari's eyes. "Darn it!" He sniffled, rubbing his eyes. "I promised myself I wouldn't cry any more. You're gonna make fun on me again, and call me a baby..." Naruto turned away from him. "What are you talking about? You're happy, what's wrong with that?" Naruto smiled, putting his hands behind his back, Inari looked up at him. "When you're happy, it's okay to cry, really, it is." Naruto nodded, Inari smiled up at his through tears. Naruto turned his back on Inari, his hands in his pockets. "Okay, I can leave you in charge of things now, right?" Naruto asked, looking up at the sky. "Yeah." Inari nodded. "Good! Then I'm going over to the bridge." Naruto started to run again. "It's not easy being a hero, believe it!" Naruto smiled, "Ha, believe it!" Inari shouted back.

"Hmph, Haku, if we keep going like this, we'll be the victims instead of them. Get on with it." Zabuza watch as Haku stood back up on his feet, "Right." He answered back. Chakra started to flow from Haku's body, it made the air heavy. "I'm sorry it's come to this..." Haku mumbled, it's so...cold. I shivered, watching Haku intently. "Huh?" I watched as ice started to form around Sasuke, "Secret jutsu, crystal ice mirrors!" They floated in the air around them, my eyes widened. I took a step forward. What is that, how does it work? I watched as Haku jumped into one of the mirrors, his reflection was cast into every one of them. I clenched my fists, dashing towards the mirrors, "(Y/N)! Stop!" Kakashi called out, reaching his hand out to grab me, I ran past him, standing just behind the mirrors. "(Y/N)," Kakashi started to run towards the mirror, Zabuza stopped him from going any further. "If you enter this fight, you fight me. They have no chance against that jutsu, they're finished. "Now, we'll begin, and I'll show you what speed really means." Haku said menacingly, I watched in horror as I saw needles come streaming down from the sky, cutting into Sasuke's arm. "SASUKE!" I screamed, jumping through the mirrors, "No, (Y/N), sto-!" I threw Sasuke to the ground just before he got struck again. "Just try to help them, and I'll kill the other two in a heartbeat." Zabuza warned, staring Kakashi down. Needles rained down on us, I blocked them the best I could, scratches riddled Sasuke's arm's and legs.

"I'm sorry, I can't stay with you." Sakura said to Tazuna, he nodded his head. "I understand, go now." Tazuna grunted. Sakura grabbed a hold of Sasuke's kunai before running towards them. "Sakura?" Kakashi turned his head to see her, she jumped up high in the air. "Take this!" She shouted, throwing the kunai towards the ice mirrors, Sasuke reached out to grab it, but Haku caught it in his hand before he could. "He caught it!" Sakura gulped, I held onto Sasuke, I wasn't as nearly as bad off as he was, I was burning holes into Haku. Suddenly a shuriken came shooting out of the sky, cutting Haku on the face, he fell out side of the ice mirror and onto the ground. "Who is it?" Sakura asked in wonder. Hmph, what a showoff. Number one hyperactive knucklehead ninja. Sasuke shook his head, in a puff of smoke, Naruto appeared "Naruto Uzumaki is here, yeah, believe it!" Naruto grinned.