Hi everyone! I'm so sorry these updates are taking so long when I promised to finish them so much sooner! Re-writing this part of the book just reminds me of the hell I went through watching the episodes to get them done – I'd dreading writing them seven years ago then, too. At least all I have to do is fix things and not create chapters for them, thank GOD. I think I'd die.

I'm doing my best for this and the next seven chapters!! Definitely my least favourite from all of the 70 I have, but I'm glad I'm able to edit them, and hopefully add some extra scenes I hadn't thought about back then since everything was so rushed.

I'll be posting a character art gallery soon! So stay tuned for that update! 

In the meantime!! Some shameless advertising – I have a My Hero Academia fic, a Black Clover fic, and a Jujutsu Kaisen fic that need some lovin'!

ALSO!!! If you can avoid it, please don't read the sequel, BONDS OF FATE, until this book is finished being edited. You're going to miss out on so much lore and information and you're gonna be hella confused. Some people in BOF haven't even been introduced at this point in the story, so just chill!

Love y'all, and thank you!

"You're finished."

At first, I wonder if it's because of the mist. We're so close to the ocean that it's absorbing its chill. But no. I wish that's how I could explain why I'm so cold right now. I'm just frozen, with fear.

"Finished..." Kakashi-sensei narrows his eyes at the back of Zabuza's head, where he stands tall with a kunai lying flat against his neck. "You really don't get it, do you? Your technique is nothing but a crass imitation. I'll never be defeated by a mere Copycat Ninja like you.

"You are full surprises, though," he adds, glancing at him from over his shoulder. "You'd already copied my Water Clone Jutsu while you made your little speech. Very skillfully executed; you made your Clone say those words to draw my attention while you hid in the mist, waiting for my next move. Nice try."

Until another Zabuza appears behind Kakashi-sensei, I don't think any of us had the inkling to move a single inch. "But I'm not that easy to fool." The one in front of him explodes, soaking him.

"Hey! That one's a clone, too!" Naruto shouts. Our Sensei spins around, just as Zabuza swings his blade at him. He ducks, just barely missing being cropped. Suddenly looking angry, Zabuza stabs it into the ground, keeping a firm hold on it, and lands a kick in—

"Kakashi-sensei!" I gasp, having watched him fly at least ten feet away, and the distance it takes for him to get there is enough for Zabuza to charge after him after he'd fallen into the lake. He stops, glaring at the ground before it where dozens of tiny sharp, metal pieces are scattered – makibishi, I realize.

I ball up my fists so tight, even my short nails manage to draw a little blood. I want nothing more than to blame the bridge-builder and just give him to Zabuza if it meant saving Kakashi-sensei. I know this is our job; I know how important it is for Mister Tazuna to complete the bridge, but he lied to us, and that's why our Sensei is in this situation to begin with. Lord Hokage might have sympathised and sent a better team to protect him, even if he couldn't afford it! He'd see just how important the cause is... he would've done something!

"He has great physical skill, too," Sasuke spectates, shaking me out of my worries. He's definitely right about that one. A moment later, Kakashi-sensei resurfaces, sputtering. But then, so does Zabuza, who makes several hand signs, standing behind his head.

"Water Prison Jutsu."

I stare on, terrified, when Zabuza has managed to trap our Sensei in a ball of water. Exasperated, angry, and feeling downright useless against this assassin, I realize that it won't be easy for Kakashi-sensei to escape his hold – it's probably his specialty, being from a Water nation.

"I'll finish you off later," Zabuza promises, keeping his hand on the sphere of water. "But first, your little friends will have to be eliminated." Lifting his free hand, he makes a hand sign, and out of the water's edge steps out another one of his copies. He chuckles.

"Do you think wearing a headband makes you a Ninja?" he asks us. "When you've hovered between life and death so many times it doesn't faze you, then you may be called a Ninja. When you've become so deadly, your profile has been entered in my Bingo Book, then you may have earned the title 'Ninja'." He lifts his fingers to his lips. "But to call upstarts like you Ninja is a joke."

I spin around, having just now realized we'd stepped out of our formation around Mister Tazuna. A deep chill settles in my spine when a strange fog starts drifting across the grounds – this must be Zabuza, too!

I hear a loud grunt through the thick of it, followed by a thud, and realize one of us has just be victimized by him – "Naruto!" I can't help but cry out.

"See? You're just brats."

"Listen!" Kakashi-sensei shouts, his voice slightly muffled since he's still inside that sphere of water. "Get the bridge-builder and run! You can't win this fight!"

I've managed to wade through the fog, somehow able to find Naruto, who lies on the ground, his eyes empty.

"He's using all his power to keep me in this prison, so he can only fight you with his Water Clone! But his clone can't go too far from his real body; if you can get away from him, he won't follow! Now, run!"

Hearing our Sensei's words... just makes me mad. It's really no different than it was that night with Makara-sensei – there's got to be more self-sacrifice? I refuse to let that happen. I'm sure my new teammates will agree... we just can't leave! Besides, I don't really think Zabuza's in the mood to let us escape, anyway.

"We've got to do it!"

From the corner of my eye, I catch Sasuke running through the mist away from us; Zabuza's clone does, too, deflecting the shuriken and kunai Sasuke throws toward it with its sword. He then jumps above Zabuza wielding a kunai. Realizing that he won't make his mark, I rush forward, flipping open my own weapons pouch and flinging what kunai and shuriken I can handle between two hands at Zabuza to cover him. It's barely a surprise at all that the assassin deflects mine away and captures Sasuke. My momentum carrying me forward, despite Kakashi-sensei's shouts for me to get back, I lunge toward them with the intent to free Sasuke from his grip. Instead, before I can reach them, Zabuza flings him away and at me, so easily and so powerfully that when our bodies connect, we're both sent flying far back away from them.

I wheeze, most of my air knocked from my lungs when I'm sandwiched between Sasuke and the ground.

"Naruto, no!" Kakashi-sensei suddenly shouts. Sasuke rolls away from me, and we both look up in time to see Naruto running toward Zabuza, only to be sent our way with a swift backhand.

"What are you thinking?!" Sakura hisses at him. "Even Sasuke couldn't get to him! We're only Genin; we can't defeat a Jōnin! What did you think you'd accomplish by that?!"

"Naruto, why?" I say, still winded, grabbing his arm with the intent of helping him to his feet. To my surprise – and embarrassment – he shakes my hands off him, "N-Naruto?" and pushes himself onto his knees, clutching his headband in his hand. I hadn't noticed it been removed – was it when Zabuza first hit him before?

Although unsteady, Naruto pushes himself to his feet, swaying.

"Hey, you," he growls Zabuza's way, "the freak with no eyebrows. Put this in your Bingo Book – the name of the Ninja... who will become the Hokage... of the Hidden Leaf Village." Setting himself straight, he takes a pained breath before retying his retrieved headband around his head. "He never backs down. His name is Naruto Uzumaki!" He grins at him. "Alright, you guys, listen up! Can you hear me?" Relieved, I take a second to breathe.

"Yep," I say.

"Yeah, I hear you," Sasuke says.

"I've got a plan."

"So, you're finally thinking about teamwork, huh?" Naruto nods.

"Alright, then. Guys! Let's go wild!"

"Big words for such a little man," Zabuza jeers. "D'you think your plan is gonna keep you in the game?"

Naruto had found his resolve, the one he'd momentarily lost during that scuffle with the other Mist Shinobi. I'd like to find mine again, too. I think I'd lost mine when I finally got comfortable living in the village – I didn't think about what would happen if I tried becoming a Shinobi. Of course, I'd have to leave the village. Of course, it would be dangerous. I don't know why I tried assuming otherwise, or at the very least, tried playing ignorant about it.

I find myself momentarily jealous of his and Sasuke's rivalry. They've got someone there to push the other – a-although, it may just be one-sided. For now, I think I'll just do whatever I can to fight alongside them.

"What are you doing?! I told you to run!" Glancing around Naruto, I shoot Kakashi-sensei one of the sternest looks I can muster. Can he even see it clearly enough? Ah, who knows. "This fight was over the moment I got caught, now take off! Your mission is not to prove how brave you are, it's to save the bridge-builder! Stay on mission!"

"Really, they're one in the same," I say, sparing a moment to shrug.

Naruto huffs, sounding impatient, before looking over his shoulder. "Bridge-builder?"

Mister Tazuna hums, long and deep, hat tipped down over his face.

"Well... this all happened because of me and my desire to live. But I won't let that stand in your way now." Eyes looking cross and his teeth gritted, he looks around at us. "Forget about me and do what you have to do! Go ahead and fight to save your Sensei!"

I give the old man a grateful smile. "Thank you, Mister Tazuna!"

"Alright, you hear that?" Sasuke says.

"Yeah, believe it! You guys ready?" Naruto asks.

"More than ever," I reply.

Back suddenly curved over backwards, Zabuza lets out a loud laugh.

"You really haven't learned anything, have you?" he asks. "Still playing your little game, pretending to be Ninja?" Lifting his arm, he stares down at it. "When I was your age... this hand crushed many opponents."

I swallow, immediately concerned for what this could mean.

"Long ago, in the Hidden Mist Village, also know as "Blood Mist Village"," Kakashi-sensei starts from within his watery prison, "before a student could become a Ninja, there was one final test."

"Hm, do you know about it?" Zabuza asks him.

"What kind of exam?" I ask, curious for the lore. "We had graduation tests, too; I mean—"

"Do you have to kill the other students to pass?" Zabuza asks. My jaw goes slack. "Imagine: young Ninja like you, eating together, training together, and then comes the final exam – only they've changed the rules: kill or be killed. You can't stop while your opponent still breathes; he's your friend! You've shared your dreams! And now, it's him, or you."

"That's so cruel!" Sakura exclaims.

"Ten years ago, the graduation exam changed," Kakashi-sensei says. "One year before, a dark evil had filled the school with terror. Without pause or hesitation, a young boy who was not even a Ninja approached the class and took down over a hundred other students."

"It... it felt so... good."

In the moment it takes to register both our Sensei's and Zabuza's words, Naruto, Sasuke and I cry out in unison when the assassin appears in front of us. He raises his elbow, straight into Sasuke's ribcage, sending him flying again, and follows through to strike him in the same place, this time, drawing blood.

"Sasuke!"

Zabuza plants a foot on his stomach to keep him still, though Sasuke's too fresh with shock, as well as hurt from the attack, to bother trying hard enough.

"You're nothing," Zabuza tells him, drawing his sword once more.

"Stop right there!" Naruto crosses his fingers and shouts, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" to draw his attention away from Sasuke, who he lifts his foot from. I rush forward the second he does and pull Sasuke far away from Zabuza and the Shadow Clones that have trapped him in a dome of bodies.

But it doesn't hold for long. The Shadow Clones go flying in all directions, Zabuza's strength too much for them to pin down. From his backpack pulled from his shoulders, Naruto pulls out a Fūma shuriken.

"Sasuke!" he calls at us, throwing it to him. Smirking, Sasuke catches it.

"Oh," I say quietly, eyeballing it. "Smart!"

"A shuriken?" Zabuza says, sheathing his sword once more. "You'll never touch me with that."

Hoping their plan proves his words wrong, I watch Sasuke as he jumps into the air, arms outstretched, and flings the shuriken with all his might. It whizzes past Zabuza's clone, travelling quickly to the shore's end where Kakashi-sensei is held. Obviously expecting it, the real Zabuza stretches his free arm out and grabs hold. And now, both of his arms are occupied.

"I told you," he however says, "a shuriken can't touch me!" A cloud of smoke pools around Zabuza by the end of his ironic sentence, and in place of the Fūma shuriken, is Naruto. "What?!"

"Eat this!" he shouts at him, flinging a kunai straight into Zabuza's face. He's forced to release the Jutsu before any major damage besides a small cut to his eyelid occurs. He'd been prepared to counterattack, but Kakashi-sensei quickly appears back on top of the water, blocking Zabuza's path with a raised arm.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura cries.

"Good job, Naruto!" I cheer. "Sakura, I'm going to go!" She nods at me, relief strong in her expression.

"Right!" And I take off for the shore's edge, ready to assist however else possible.

"Naruto, that was an excellent plan," Kakashi-sensei praises, keeping his eyes locked on Zabuza. "You've... really grown, haven't you?"

"I knew I couldn't beat him with my Shadow Clones; that was just to distract him!" Naruto answers brightly. "While he was fighting the clones, I turned into the Demon Wind Shuriken. He didn't know what to do, believe it! I used one of the clones to transform into the shuriken. When I threw it to Sasuke, it looked like a real shuriken. Sasuke could tell it was me in a second, and then he spun around so no one could see him pull out his own shuriken. Now there were two shuriken—one was real, and one was me!

"I hid in the shadow of the real shuriken, and my target was the real Zabuza! Of course I knew I couldn't fight Zabuza, myself; that wasn't in the game plan. I just wanted to get in there and break up his Water Prison. I didn't know his clone would be wrecked, too! That was a bonus, believe it!"

"Don't brag, you just lucked out," I barely hear Sasuke grumble.

"That whole things was just a fluke!" Mister Tazuna hollers, fists clenched at his sides. Even still, if I'd thought of something crazy-cool like that, I'd be bragging about it, too!

"I got distracted and lost my grip on the water prison," Zabuza says.

"Don't flatter yourself," Kakashi-sensei tells him darkly. "You weren't distracted—you were forced to let go. Your technique worked on me once, but it won't work again. So... what's it gonna be?"

Shutting the Fūma so the blades are aligned side-by-side, Kakashi-sensei holds up his hand, blocking it with his metal armguard, as Zabuza uses his strength to put him on the defensive. Then, with a single movement, he knocks the large shuriken far through the air, which is then swallowed by the murky clouds around us. They push away from each other, never breaking eye contact, even when Zabuza begins making hand signs, Kakashi-sensei following close behind him.

"Wait a second," I breathe, rooted to the shore, "in Sensei's eye – is that—?"

"The Sharingan," Sasuke confirms.

I end up stumbling away from the water, completely in awe of the sight before me – two dragons made up of chakra and water, battling each other, twirling, twisting, and gnarling around and at each other. Each collision makes my ears feel like they'd just about burst, until the dragons, themselves, burst, all of the water falls back into the lake and on the ground where I stand, soaking me to the bone, and sending Naruto through the water he'd still been wading around in.

Watching Kakashi-sensei and Zabuza's battle continue, I find myself confused – "Why is Kakashi-sensei copying him?" I wonder aloud.

"It makes you furious, doesn't it?" Kakashi-sensei asks him. Zabuza laughs.

"All you're doing is copying me," Zabuza says, "like a monkey!"

"You can't beat me with cheap tricks!" they chorus. "I'll crush you!"

Raging, Zabuza makes more hand signs, even faster than the first time around. "When I'm finished with you, you'll never open that monkey mouth again!" he promises. But he doesn't even finish; something has distracted him, and Kakashi-sensei finishes before him!

"Water Style: Giant Vortex Jutsu!"

"What!?"

Pulling my bag off my shoulders, I throw it to the ground and dive far out into the water.

To pass the written graduation exam, one of the questions asked us to describe how we would differentiate the physical difference between two Jutsu – the Giant Vortex Jutsu and simply, the Vortex Jutsu. For obvious reasons, the Giant Vortex Jutsu is much more powerful. Getting caught up in one definitely is not what you'd want to happen, especially Naruto – he can swim, but he's just not a good swimmer.

The hot springs in the mountains of the Hidden Snow Village ran long and deep, covered by solidified piles of constantly falling snow. Having an irrational fear of water had always been something I'd wished to overcome as a child, so when Makara-sensei sent me to the one behind our cabin almost every day, I'd eventually done so. It's tolerable now – it still scares me, how vast and huge and dangerous water can be, but for Naruto, it has to become more than just tolerable.

Mouth shut and a great breath of air trapped in my lungs, I paddle deep beneath the water's surface where I'd spotted Naruto's orange jumpsuit; he'd been pulled under almost immediately, unprepared for the Jutsu, and too far out to avoid getting hit by it. He finally turns my way, eyes widening, cheeks puffed out, and I stretch my arm out to him, gesturing for him to stop fighting against the current. I grab his wrist and pull him forward, now swimming back to shore on a diagonal, away from the battle.

The shore had risen about three feet, thanks to our Sensei's displacement of the water, so getting back up is a bit difficult. I help Naruto, who's exhausted from being trapped beneath the water, up first, him coughing out what he'd taken in and panting. Holding onto the shore's edge, I take a moment to praise myself – I'd done something to help!

"W-Whoa!" Still lost in thought, Naruto grabbing hold of my arms and pulling me up onto land with him startles me greatly. "Thanks," I say, immediately starting to squeeze out my hair and clothing. Nodding, he gives his own chest a few strikes, coughing out a bit more water.

"Thanks for getting me back from out there," he says, his voice rasping. Very suddenly, he looks past me, back out at the water. I'm quick to follow his eyes, and shocked to find two senbon needles sticking out from Zabuza's neck, in addition to the several kunai sticking out of his limbs.

I end up shrieking at the sight of it along with Naruto and the others. Kakashi-sensei looks away from him and back toward the opposite side of the shore from Naruto and I, and at a person perched on one of the tree's thickest branches.

"You were right," the person, a boy, says, chuckling. "It was his last battle." He jumps down from the tree, joining Kakashi-sensei and Zabuza's still body by the edge.

"No vital signs," our Sensei says, having searched for some along the assassin's neck.

"Thank you," the masked boy says, bowing to them. "I've been tracking Zabuza for a long time, waiting for the chance to finally take him down."

"From your mask, I see that you're a Tracker Ninja from the Hidden Mist Village," Kakashi-sensei deduces.

"Impressive. You're well informed." Before I can even register what's just happened, Naruto rushes forward.

"Ah! A Tracker Ninja!" he exclaims, fists scrunched up at the boy.

"Naruto, you don't even know what that is," Sakura says knowingly, rolling her eyes. "You missed the lesson on it, as usual. Tracker Ninja have a special role—try coming to class sometime. When a rogue Ninja breaks away from his village, he carries all kinds of secrets with him, the secrets of his people. Trackers are specially trained to hunt down these Ninja and eliminate them. That way, the secrets of their people remain secret."

"That's correct," says the boy. "I'm a member of the elite Tracking Unit of the Village Hidden in the Mist. It was my duty to stop Zabuza."

Elite? I repeat in my thoughts. But he doesn't sound much older than we do.

For some reason I can't fathom, Naruto is angry that the masked boy killed Zabuza. If he or Kakashi-sensei didn't, he would've killed us, and happily so. He looks back to Kakashi-sensei, and then back at Zabuza's body.

"What is this?!" he shouts up at the masked boy. "Who do you think you are?" The boy doesn't answer. "Did you hear me?!"

"Easy, Naruto," Kakashi-sensei says, pushing himself to his feet and walking over to him. "He's not our enemy."

"Huh?" Naruto turns around, clearly affronted. "That's not the point! Did you see what he did? Just like that? Zabuza was huge and powerful, like some kind of monster! And this kid, who's no bigger than me, he brought down Zabuza with one move, like it was nothing! I mean, what does that make us? We're just fumbling around—we don't know anything! How can I accept that!?"

"Well, even if you don't accept it..." Kakashi-sensei stops in front of him. "Still, it did happen, Naruto." Lowering his arms, Naruto's eyes flickers to the ground, just as out Sensei places a heavy hand on top of his head. "In this world, there are kids who are younger than you, and yet, stronger than me."

It's not difficult to tell – both Naruto and Sasuke are offended by this. I suppose... even I'm a little... But now I know firsthand that age really isn't a number when it comes to Shinobi talent. I've heard of people who've graduated as prodigies from the academy as young as six.

I guess... being really good at Taijutsu... really means nothing at all in a world of Ninjutsu and Genjutsu.

In a funnel of air, the boy disappears and reappears at Zabuza's side, easily lifting the assassin's body over and onto his own.

"Your struggle is over for now," he tells us. "I must deal with the remains; there are many secrets in this body. They must not be allowed to get into the wrong hands. Please excuse me, and farewell." With the same technique he'd just used, the boy vanishes.

"He disappeared!" Naruto exclaims, pushing Kakashi-sensei's hand away. With a sigh, our Sensei pulls his headband back over his Sharingan eye, at the same time Naruto runs forward to where the boy had once been.

"He's gone, Naruto," Kakashi-sensei says. "Let it go." Unable to keep his frustration in, he falls onto his knees and begins pounding the ground in front of him with his fists. I frown.

"What are we doing here!?" he growls, not letting up. "We're nothing! I can't believe it!" Stepping forward once again, Kakashi-sensei grabs his arm.

"As Ninja, the things we encounter are never easy," he says. "Save your anger for the next enemy." Letting go and allowing Naruto to breathe, he turns around to us. "We haven't completed our mission yet. We still have to get the bridge-builder to his bridge."

"Eh-heh, sorry for all the trouble I caused you!" Mister Tazuna says with a feeble chortle. "You can rest at my house when we get to the village." I refrain from scowling.

"Alright," he agrees. "Let's get a move on!" All of a sudden, I hear a groan from behind me, and the next thing I know, I'm flat on the ground, Kakashi-sensei having collapsed right overtop of me.

"What happened!?" Sakura asks worriedly, assisting the others in gently rolling our Sensei off of me. Horrified, I clamber onto my knees, searching him over for any injuries, b-but there's none?!

"K-Kakashi-sensei!"

Updated May 15th, 2021 | 4,016 words